May 28, 2024 By Jim Downey 4 min read

Rachel Rohanna hopes to enjoy a little “home cooking” when she tees it up in her fourth U.S. Women’s Open.

The Waynesburg graduate is playing in her fourth national golf championship, but the closest to home with the four-hour plus drive east to Lancaster Country Club.

Rohanna, Alana Uriell and amateur Caroline Smith will be the first off the No. 1 tee bright and early Thursday at 6:45 a.m. The trio goes off No. 10 at 12:30 p.m. in Friday’s second round.

The low 60 scores and ties advance to the weekend’s final two rounds.

Rohanna played in her first U.S. Open as an amateur in 2011 at The Broadmoor East Course in Colorado Springs.

She also played in the 2013 championship at Sebonack Golf Club in Long Island, and most recently the 2019 Open at the Country Club of Charleston in South Carolina.

Rohanna thinks she’s played the course once before, but feels the club will have a familiar feel of a Pennsylvania golf course.

“Emily (her younger sister) and I keep talking about whether or not we’ve played there before,” explained Rohanna. “I’m guessing it’s a Pennsylvania course, a country club in the north.

“It will have bent grass greens and it will play long with not super small greens. The rough will be thick and the tees will be far back to play long yardage. The course will be a little flatter than western Pennsylvania courses.”

Weather conditions will also affect how Lancaster Country Club plays.

“There will not be too much roll if it rains. The carry numbers will be important, especially off the tee,” said Rohanna.

Rohanna had practice rounds scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday to map out the course.

“I’ll hit to certain areas and see how the ball will kick,” said Rohanna. “My caddy will map out the course before I go out and watch other players, and see what their ball does.”

Rohanna will rely heavily on the observations of her caddy, Jody Keepers.

“That’s why I pay him what I do. That’s why he’s at the top,’ said Rohanna. “He’s been with me since 2017. He’s been working on all the tours for 35 years. Jody does a good job of keeping me level-headed.

“Jody has a lot of one-liners. He knows how to crack a joke. It’s been a lot of fun for the last seven years.”

Rohanna added, “The biggest thing is how the ball is reacting on the green. Knowing Pennsylvania courses balls in the middle of the green will suck off the green. I’ll need to really fine tune where I want to hit the ball.”

Rohanna used a familiar football/basketball saying as her approach for a successful national championship.

“The old saying is offense wins games, but defense wins championships,” said Rohanna. “This is one of the toughest events on the schedule.

“It’s about giving myself the best chance for up-and-downs or making pars, and trying to stay patient. Knowing there will be a lot of bogeys out there, but there will be some birdies.

“The U.S. Open is hard to put any type of score in mind.”

“I need to be a little more conservative at times is a good game plan.”

Though often easier said than done, Rohanna basically said she just needs to simply play her game.

“I just need to focus on my game plan. I’ve had an extremely streaky year. I got new clubs last week, but I decided to keep my old clubs and putter. I added a new driver to the bag,” said Rohanna.

Rohanna relishes the opportunity to play before a big crowd on a big stage.

“The big tournaments are fun ones. It’s such a fun atmosphere,” said Rohanna. “Being an entertainer, I love that part of it.”

Plus, Rohanna will have her family and daughters Gemelia and Greenlee at the tournament.

“To have the whole family out there will be nice,” said Rohanna.

Rohanna is the only Pennsylvania-born golfer in the field, so she hopes to gather some home-state fans.

“I’d like to think a couple of extra fans will be out there following a Pennsylvania girl,” said Rohanna.

Lancaster Country Club hosted 11 USGA National Championships since 2006.

The course has local ties with Jim Nagle, as part of Forse Design located in Hopwood, serving as the course architect behind the restoration and renovations of the course designed by William Flynn, His two-decades long consultation helped bring Lancaster Country Club back to Flynn’s design with the return of his original bunkers, plus the addition of several other sand traps to deal with the demands brought on with the advancement of modern technology.