Rohanna shoots 1-under in first round of Q School
Rachel Rohanna opened Stage 3 of LPGA Qualifying School with a 1-under 71 on the Jones course at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The Waynesburg Central graduate is in a 15-way tie for 15th place after the first of five rounds of play.
Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong, Nasa Hataoka, Hyemin Kim, Gabriella Then and Anne Van Dam share the lead at 4-under 68 after the first round.
The field is cut down to the top 70 and ties after the fourth round on Saturday. The fifth and final round is Sunday on the LPGA International Hills course.
Rohanna played the front nine in even-par 36 with nine pars.
She made the turn with a birdie-3 on No. 10 and went to 2-under for the round with another birdie-3 on No. 16. Rohanna had her lone lost stroke on No. 17 with a bogey-4.
鈥淚 had a really tough up and down on No. 17,鈥� explained Rohanna.
鈥淚 played pretty well,鈥� said Rohanna. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 shoot myself out of it.
鈥淭he Jones course is typically the easier course, but they redid the greens before the Symetra Tour Championship. The greens were soft (for the Championship), but they are extremely firm. It蘑菇视频 tough to get the ball tough to the pin.鈥�
Rohanna said she simply played a steady round, making key shots at the right times.
鈥淚 got up and down a lot,鈥� said Rohanna. 鈥淚 kept the ball in play for the most part.
鈥淭he greens are like concrete. The scores were a little lower on the other course (Hills course). The greens were more receptive.鈥�
Rohanna plays the Hills course today, teeing off at 9:06 a.m.
鈥淚鈥檝e played close to 100 times between the two of them,鈥� said Rohanna. 鈥淭ee shots are a lot trickier on the Hills course and the greens are smaller. I鈥檒l have a lot of shot shaping.鈥�
The weather will also be a factor.
鈥淚t was very windy today. The Hills course is tough to score on, in general,鈥� added Rohanna.
The tournament has 165 players split between the two courses and divided between No. 1 and 10 tees.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 a scramble gone crazy,鈥� said Rohanna. 鈥淭he main reason it蘑菇视频 so slow was the wind. It was blowing so hard.
鈥淚 had the last tee time at 10:23, which was nice. We hit the 5-hour mark (for her round) when we were on the No. 18 tee box.鈥�
Rohanna has learned a lesson or two from playing in previous qualifying tournaments.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 more of a marathon. Five days is the longest tournament in golf,鈥� said Rohanna. 鈥淩est is the more important thing at this point, resting and staying healthy.鈥�
Rohanna was a bit under the weather Tuesday night, but felt a lot better after the first round.
Rohanna emphasized the need for rest.
鈥淚鈥檓 in bed so early,鈥� laughed Rohanna. 鈥淚t took me a week to get on schedule after playing in New Zealand. I鈥檓 still getting used to daylight savings.
鈥淚鈥檓 in bed early, but I don鈥檛 mind it though.鈥�