Rogowicz aiming to cap awesome summer at U.S. Women’s Amateur

Just days after finishing a public speaking class at Penn State, Jackie Rogowicz plans to let her golf clubs do some talking.

Rogowicz culminates an impressive summer both inside the classroom and on the golf course with a spot in the 118th U.S. Women’s Amateur championship.

Rogowicz, a Penn State senior, produced a memorable summer which included playing her way into the LPGA’s ShopRite Classic at Stockton Seaview Golf Club and being named an All-American Scholar by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA).

The business major completed classes in finance and public speaking week then packed for a third appearance in the Women’s Amateur, August 6-12 at The Golf Club of Tennessee in Kingston Springs.

Rogowicz, a Yardley, Pa., resident and member of the same-named club that produced a long list of successful male amateur players, has claimed the best of both worlds as success in education and golf remain major accomplishments in her life.

“Really enjoyed taking the two classes and working on my game. Penn State students are required to take a public speaking class. I guess I could get better. Working on it. I didn’t play a ton of tournaments but playing in the ShopRite and now the U.S. Amateur is cool,” Rogowicz said.

Rogowicz qualified as the lone amateur in the ShopRite field in early June where she shared two rounds with Brittany Lang, a 2016 U.S. Open Champion and Annie Park, the eventual tournament champion.

Rogowicz posted a nervous first-round 83 then rebounded with a 1-overpar 72 that featured birdies on three of her final four holes and gained compliments from Lang.

“You mean that amateur?,” Lang responded a day after the ShopRite during Val Skinner’s LPGA Pros in the Fight to Eradicate Breast Cancer event at Mountain Ridge Country Club.

“That girl’s got game, especially to play that well in the second round. Sure, I remember my first tournaments on tour. It’s not easy with so many people watching. She did great.”

Rogowicz loved the ShopRite appearance and plays in another personal favorite this week.

“I’ve played in two other Amateurs and match play lost in playoffs both times to qualify for match play,” she lamented.

All competitors will compete in two days of stroke play, Monday-Tuesday. The field will be narrowed to 64 for the start of Wednesday’s match play.

The second-round of 32 players and the thirdround of 16 players will be played on Wednesday, followed by the quarterfinals on Friday, the semifinals on Saturday and the championship on Aug. 12.

Rogowicz plays Monday at 8:17 a.m. with Pimnipa Panthong, Thailand and Lauren Waidner, Fleming Island, Fla.

“Competing in any USGA event is cool because players get treated like royalty. This is a great way to end the summer.”

Haley Bookholdt, an Old York GC member and Elon University sophomore, lost 3&2 to defending champion Kelly Sim in the NJSGA 93rd Women’s

State Amateur championship at Essex County CC.

“I’m really excited to go back to college because of all the progress

I made here. Now, I know what I have to work on,” Bookholdt told NJSGA.

“Kelly (Sim) is a great player and she only makes a few mistakes. I would have had to play my best game to beat her, but today I only hit a handful of fairways and didn’t leave myself in an ideal position a lot of times.”

Old York’s Samantha Perrotta dropped a 3&1 quarterfinal match to Christina Parsells of Baltusrol GC.

Kim, of Alpine CC, next year could become the first three-time repeat champion since Sherry Herman of Bamm Hollow won four in a row from 1995 through 1998.

L.A. Parker is a a Trentonian golf columnist and golf writer.