ROGERS — Summar Roachell swung her arms in frustration after her second to-last putt stopped a few inches short.
At a certain point, all the 17-year-old golfer from Conway could do was laugh and crack a few jokes about her rough afternoon at Pinnacle Country Club.
Roachell had hoped to get her short game going Monday in her first attempt at qualifying for the LPGA NW Arkansas Championship. She instead had to settle for finishing at 7-over-par 78 and learning a few hard lessons.
“I just didn’t hit the ball as well. I left myself in some tough spots around the greens,” said Roachell, a three-time high school state champion who will 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 said, jokingly, “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 LPGA NW Arkansas Championship with a 5-under 66.
Yuki Sakurai also earned a spot in the field after the 23-year-old Japanese native shot 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 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-3 15th hole, where she made a double bogey that she wasn’t able to recover from down the stretch.
“My short game is usually pretty good, but not today,” Roachell said.
Shauna Estes-Taylor, Arkansas’ women’s golf coach, was in attendance to watch Roachell, who has committed to play for the Razorbacks. Current Razorbacks golfer Emma Lavy of Fayetteville shot a 2-over 73.
Roachell said she got a bit tired while battling Monday’s record heat, which reached 101 degrees in Rogers, 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.”
LPGA
NW ARKANSAS CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING Monday q-qualified for the LPGA NW Arkansas Championship a-amateur Samantha Richdale-q ........................66 Yuki Sakurai-q ....................................67 Catherine Matranga ............................69 Yukari Nishiyama ...............................70 Chelsea Schriewer .............................71 Taylore Karle .......................................71 Katy Harris .........................................71 Jean Bartholomew .............................71 Amanda McCurdy ..............................72 Jimin Nam ..........................................72 Ashli Bunch ........................................72 Emma Lavy-a .....................................73 Alexandrea Schulte ............................74 Dina Ammaccapane ...........................74 Hillery Wilson .....................................75 Celeste Bobbitt ...................................75 Ashley Medders-Barnes .....................75 Courtney Mahon ................................75 Amelia Lewis ......................................75 Summar Roachell-a ...........................78
Sports, Pages 22 on 06/26/2012