Jun 9, 2020 5 min read

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Rachel Rohanna was happy to be back doing what she does best last week with her first tournament round of golf in three months at the CoBank Women’s Colorado Open in Denver.

She was also pretty happy with her overall play in the three-round state open, finishing tied for 13th at 2-under 214 (67-73-74).

Jennifer Kopcho finished first at 16-under 200 and earned the top prize of $50,000.

Rohanna was rolling in the final round last Friday with a 2-under on the front nine at Green Valley Ranch Club, but carded a pair of sevens on the back nine to slip down the leaderboard. Her six birdies in the final round were sixth-best among the field.

“The pin placement on No. 10 (a par-4) was really tricky. I had a bad kick into the hazard. That (hole) was just a mess,” explained Rohanna.

Rohanna then closed out the tournament with a double-bogey 7, but said she likely would’ve played the hole differently in a Symetra or LPGA tour event.

“No. 18 is a long par-5. I went for it in two, but hit in the pond,” said Rohanna. “We needed an eagle to win the pro-am. My place (and winnings after the top three or four spots) wasn’t going to change much, so I might as well go for it.

“Do I go for it (in a the Symetra or LPGA Tour event), probably not. But, I had nothing to lose.”

Rohanna was glad she paid up the extra $100 to play in the pro-am because the Waynesburg Central graduate and playing partner Rod Yoder, of Team Reisher, finished second at 24-under 192 (60-68-64) for a $1,825 payday.

Rohanna complimented her pro-game partner, saying, “He played well for himself. We were one shot away from 59 (in the first round). That’s not bad.”

“Other than the two sevens, the week was just awesome for the first time out of the gate,” said Rohanna. “I shot 5-under (in the first round) and was bogey free. The wind was bad on the second day. It was tough to figure out which way it was blowing. The wind was so bad neither of us could score.

“The morning wave had an amazing advantage. But, it is what it is.”

Plus, playing at altitude added another dynamic.

“I took off 10 percent for the mountain air. That’s quite a bit,” said Rohanna.

Rohanna had a familiar face on her bag in the three-day tournament.

“I had my mom on the bag. She wasn’t rusty at all,” complimented Rohanna.

Safety precautions because of the coronavirus pandemic were in place at the course, changing the normal routine of a golf tournament.

“We had to wear masks unless we are golfing. No shaking hands. We were to show up at the course 45 minutes before our tee times. We were permitted golf carts and had a flag attendant at every green,” said Rohanna.

A rain delay not only sent Rohanna and her mother to their car instead of the clubhouse to wait it out, it almost led her to miss dinner.

“There was a curfew (in Denver) because of the protests. We almost missed dinner. Luckily, we were able to grab Subway 10 minutes before they closed. I never had that feeling before. It was not a good feeling. I had to get something to eat. I was ready to go to the Walgreens and get something,” said Rohanna.

Rohanna is unsure of what is next on the schedule. The Symetra and LPGA tours are both tentatively set to resume in the third week of July. The LPGA looks to play the Marathon Classic in Sylania, Ohio, on July 23-26, while the Symetra is set for the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship in Battle Creek, Mich., on July 24-26.

“I’m on the wait list for the Michigan Open at the end of June and I have a pro-am in Rochester (N.Y.) at the end of the month,” said Rohanna.

Rohanna also expressed interest in playing in the 117th West Penn Open at Shannopin Country Club on Aug. 4-5.

“I’ll play the qualifier,” said Rohanna.

Rohanna hosted a clinic at Rohanna’s Golf Course on May 28 and was pleased with the inaugural event.

“We had 51 kids from ages 2-18. It looked like rain so we had a really good turnout,” said Rohanna. “The kids were awesome. The Lohr sisters, Remmey and Delaney, Alison Blair, Paige Scott, my mom, all helped. Rohanna’s gave us the run of the course.

“The kids were all great. Some of the kids had never played before and they were hitting it great.”

Rohanna hopes such activities will spark an interest in the sport.

“I remember knocking on doors and asking people to go out for the team in high school. Hopefully, this will get kids golfing,” added Rohanna.