ROGERS — Summar Roachell swung her arms, showing her frustration after her second-to-last putt fell a few inches short.
At a certain point, all the 17-year-old Conway golfer could do was laugh and crack a few jokes about her rough afternoon at Pinnacle Country Club. She later went on Twitter to offer some more commentary about her round.
Roachell had hoped to get her short game going Monday in her first attempt at qualifying for the LPGA’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. She instead had to settle for finishing at 7-over 78 and learning a few hard lessons in the qualifier.
“I just didn’t hit the ball as well. I left myself in some tough spots around the greens,” said Roachell, a three-time state champion who’ll be a senior at Conway in the fall. “I mean, I don’t normally miss that many greens, but yeah, it was just kind of rough.”
When asked if there was a particular point when she just couldn’t wait for her difficult round to come to an end, Roachell joked, “Like the last five holes.”
Roachell shot 6-over on her last five holes to finish 12 strokes behind Samantha Richdale, a former Illinois State golfer who qualified for the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship with a 5-under 66.
Yuki Sakurai also earned a spot in Friday’s opening round after the 23-year-old Japanese native fired a 4-under 67 in her first attempt at qualifying for an LPGA event.
“I’m so happy,” Sakurai said, noting that she benefited from her good iron shots and accurate putting.
Roachell, on the other hand, appeared frustrated after she tapped in on the 18th hole. She said things went downhill for her on the 146-yard, par-13 15th hole, where she recorded a double bogey that she was never able to recover from down the stretch.
“My short game is usually pretty good, but not today,” Roachell said.
Arkansas women’s golf coach Shauna Estes-Taylor was in attendance Monday to watch Roachell, a typically accurate golfer who has already committed to play for the Razorbacks. Current Arkansas golfer Emma Lavy also failed to qualify after recording a 2-over 73.
Roachell admitted that she got a bit tired while battling Monday’s record heat, but she said it wasn’t too much of a factor on her game. She said she just couldn’t get into a rhythm.
“The course is different,” Roachell said. “It taught me a lot about my game and where it’s at.”
Later, Roachell went on Twitter and admitted to her nearly 500 followers that she was disappointed with her play Monday. But she also found a reason to be optimistic on a day when her shots were a bit off the mark.
“Even though I didn’t finish the way I wanted to, I learned so much from being part of the tournament,” she wrote. “Motivated to get better!”