Rohanna trails Van Sickle by two shots
VERONA — King Richard III was willing to give his kingdom for a horse, as legend holds.
Well, Robert Rohanna doesn’t have a kingdom and has no need of a horse, but surely would’ve traded something of meaning for one or two more putts to fall in the second round of the West Penn Open.
Rohanna shot 2-over 72 Tuesday at the Longue Vue Club, slipping into second place with a two-round total of 1-under 139.
Rohanna will be paired with leader Mike Van Sickle, who holds a two-stroke advantage after shooting a 1-under 69 in the second round. He opened with a 68. The pair, the only two under par in the field, are scheduled to tee off at 10:41 a.m.
The Waynesburg Central graduate had a rough start with back-to-back bogeys after opening with a par.
He made a nice par save on No. 4, a 553-yard par-5, after his tee shot ricocheted left down a slope.
Rohanna made his first birdie of the round on No. 7, a 323-yard par-4, after driving the green with his tee shot, and followed with another on No. 8, a 523-yard par-5. He missed a birdie putt on No. 9 to go out in even-par 36.
All the hard work to get back to even for the round unwound on No. 10, a 171-yard par-3, with a four-putt double bogey.
“I hit a good shot off the tee. You’re not supposed to challenge that pin,” explained Rohanna. “The (birdie) putt was so slow. I hit (the par putt) right-center and it goes to the hole and goes right.”
He left the birdie putt short by eight feet or so. His par putt slid past the pin, as did his bogey putt.
Rohanna recovered with a birdie on No. 11, a 417-yard par-4, after he drained a 40-foot, downhill putt from the back of the green.
Rohanna had a 3-putt on the par-3 No. 12 to go to 1-under for the tournament.
He stuck his approach shot on No. 14, a 445-yard par-4, for a tap-in birdie, but had a bit of misfortune on his next tee shot as he attempted to build closing momentum.
“My drive on No. 15 hit in a drain, but they felt it wasn’t a drain so I had to hack it out. I hit (his approach shot) up to four feet and missed the putt,” said Rohanna.
Rohanna had a “good” bogey on No. 17 after hooking his tee shot alongside the trees, but carded a “bad” bogey in Tuesday’s second round with another 3-putt.
“I needed one more rotation,” Rohanna said of his putting on No. 17.
He finished the second round with a par to come back in 2-over 36.
“I played (his birdie putt) at right-center and it went right,” said Rohanna.
Rohanna was a couple revolutions away from a birdie on one hole and a par on another.
“I hit the ball better today, but I had 38 putts. I feel if you’re on the fringe and 15 feet, you didn’t miss the green,” said Rohanna. “I don’t feel like I putted bad, by any means.
“I shouldn’t be winning with 38 putts. I had three 3-putts and a 4-putt. I had three one-putts and two 2-putt birdies.
“I hit good shots all day. I hit my 3-wood great all day.”
Rohanna and Van Sickle are familiar foes from their high school and college days.
“Hopefully, I’ll play a lot of good golf and put pressure on him early,” said Rohanna. “Out here, it’s like survival. It’s brutally hard.”