The 2023 season looked a little different to Epson Tour veteran Rachel Rohanna. The 33-year-old was sidelined for the second half of the year, playing her last Epson Tour event in June and patiently waiting to meet her second child.
Upon birth, her daughter, Greenlee Kay Virgili, was diagnosed with hearing loss, giving Rohanna two tasks for the winter months and offseason: getting her daughter the care she needs and then getting ready to tee it up again for the first time since having a second baby. Off the course, the new family of four was able to provide little Greenlee with hearing aids, and they are also learning sign language to allow her to communicate with her family however she wants as she gets older. And on the course, Rohanna was putting in work to regain strength and be ready to go for the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic in March.
“I learned after having my first you have, first of all, a completely different perspective on the game, on your career,” said Rohanna. “Obviously, your family comes first, and my main priority was taking care of my kids this offseason and making sure the youngest one was ready to go and that she got that early intervention as quickly as possible. So that was certainly my priority. But secondly, the best thing that I found for my body was doing barre workouts, kind of like yoga, pilates, very low impact but gaining strength.”
Now, playing practice rounds to prepare for the first event of the season at the Country Club of Winter Haven, the Ohio State University alumna is looking ahead to and setting goals for the 2024 season. Like the other 131 athletes competing this week, Rohanna wants LPGA Tour status for 2025. But being a veteran, she knows there are smaller targets, like improving her scoring average and greens in regulation, that she needs to hit to get there.
“Second baby, I’m not getting younger, so whereas I really used to explode like really hit into the ball, I’m kind of trying to use a little bit more momentum off the club head and swing through it,” said Rohanna. “So, I guess it sounds simpler than it's been, but overall, just trying to get that scoring average down, hopefully, let it take care of itself. But yes, ultimately LPGA full status again next year (is the goal).”
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