April 22, 2008

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (UWIRE) --

Penn State senior Robert Rohanna had an easy time with the longer putts at last weekend's Rutherford Intercollegiate -- but those short ones were annoyingly difficult.

Twice on Saturday, Rohanna three-putted the ninth hole, which he said is the easiest hole on the Penn State Blue Course.

But on Sunday, after a solid drive on the 10th hole, the senior was furious, as he landed a wedge shot about 15 feet past the hole. Facing a fast, downhill putt, Rohanna tapped his ball and watched it roll end over end into the cup for a birdie.

Rohanna estimated he missed almost 10 putts inside three feet over the weekend, and with only a couple practices left before the men's golf team departs for East Lansing, Mich. for the Big Ten championship tournament, Rohanna and the other golfers will turn their attention onto the putting greens.

"Honestly, I'm struggling a little bit," Rohanna said. "I don't think I'm gonna miss putts, I just do. I just need to practice putting and make putts. If I get it going the first few holes when I get [to Michigan State], I'll be all right."

Rohanna said he putted well at Michigan State a year ago, and since its course is relatively short, many strokes will be gained on the greens.

Rohanna said the greens have a lot of slope, but that junior Matt Leon and senior Harvin Groft are good enough putters to keep the team's score low.

Redshirt freshman T.J. Howe said he is also focusing on his short game after struggling in that area this past weekend, so he will address his stroke in practice this week.

"I only three-putted twice, but it didn't feel good, even over three-or four-footers," Howe said. "I felt jerky, I'm gonna work on that and try and smooth it out."

Coach Greg Nye expects the Nittany Lions to be in contention at the tournament, especially Rohanna as an individual -- if he putts well.

"What else is new with Robert or any golfer?" Nye said. "They're always leaving a couple shots out on the golf course."

With the season's premier tournament thus far looming at the end of the week, Rohanna is confident he'll overcome his putting mishaps.

And talking with Nye, the coach made sure his senior leader knew it.

"Robert, you gonna make any putts next week?" Nye said.

"Yeah," Rohanna responded.

"He'll be fine," Nye said. "You heard it from the horse's mouth, he's committed to making putts."

(C) 2008 Daily Collegian via UWIRE