Rohanna balances golf, the farm, and family
Rachel Rohanna, the Waynesburg Central High School alum who plays on the Symetra and LPGA Tours, has gained national prominence balancing her golf career and life at home raising cattle.
And, assuming all goes well, she’ll have something else to balance in early June. She and her husband, Ethan Virgili, will welcome their first child around that time.
“It was quite a surprise,” Rohanna said Saturday. “We had been talked about starting a family in a year or two anyway, but this is exciting.”
In addition to the excitement of having a child, Rohanna is also excited about how the Symetra and LPGA Tours become involved with their players as they start families.
“I’m taking maternity leave to start with,” she said. “I’m allowed to play up to 10 tournaments. The first few LPGA events are far away and then a few limited field events. The first Symetra Tour event is March 16 and I’ll be in my third trimester. At that point, it will be a matter of how I feel.”
“Both tours have been very lenient and helpful in these situations with their players,” Rohanna continued. “The LPGA provides child care and very much wants to see their players out there with their families.”
Rohanna has partial status on the LPGA Tour and full status on the Symetra. If she does nothing in 2018, that will still be in place in 2019. She could improve her LPGA status by playing well in whatever events she plays this year. If Rohanna is feeling good by that time, she could opt to return to Q-school and try to improve her place in that process.
“I was pregnant when I played in the Tour Championship last year. I’ve been very lucky, no sickness, not feeling bad. I’ve been working out hard.”
Chances are she’ll continuing doing just that for as long as she can until the baby arrives. And, knowing the long-hitting 26-year-old, she’ll be right back at it as soon as possible after the arrival of the child.
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The U.S. Open won’t be back to Oakmont Country Club until 2025, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any national-caliber golf in Western Pennsylvania until then.
As a matter of fact, four such events will be held at the same course this year.
Totteridge Golf Course, Rees Jones design just outside of Greensburg, will be that course and will provide a strong test for those competitors.
The events start with a stop on the Buckeye Junior Golf Tour April 28-29. There are 25 events on that tour, which is a regional tour for golfers between the ages of 10-19.
A unique three-day event will be held there June 19-20-21. The Southeast Deaf Golfers Association has been in existence since 1968, started by deaf golfers in Virginia and North and South Carolina. It’s now expanded throughout the south and into western Pa. The event has four divisions: Open, Senior, Super Seniors and Women. More information is available at: www.SEGDA.ORG.
The biggest of the four events will be a 36-hole sectional qualifier on July 23 for the 118th U.S. Amateur. The Totteridge qualifier is one of 84 across the country.
All pertinent information about the Amateur, held at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Aug. 13-19, are available at www.USGA.org.
The final event of four is the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour on October 20-21. This will be one of 25 Hurricane events across the country for golfers ages 8-18. The HJGT is the largest junior golf tour in the U.S., hosting more 2-day nationally-ranked events than any other tour. For more information: www.HJGT.org.
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Tough break for defending U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, the great-nephew of Dick Groat, the former basketball and baseball great who owns Champions Lake Golf Course in Bolivar.
Koepka is expected to miss at least the next two months because of torn tendon in his left wrist. He’s hoping to return in time for the Masters and obviously won’t be able keep the kind of schedule that would have gotten him ready for the first major of the season.