By TERRY NAU
Sports Editor

EAST PROVIDENCE — Nathan Smith and Robert Rohanna kept Western Pennsylvania golfers in the news on Wednesday, opening with six-under par 63s to share the lead after one round of the Northeast Amateur Invitational.

Picking up where Greensburg’s Rocco Mediate left off at the U.S. Open, Smith and Rohanna blitzed a vulnerable Wannamoisett Country Club layout, hitting the ball squarely and making a lot of putts.

“I played well over the weekend (while finishing third at the Sunnehanna Amateur in Johnstown, Pa.),” said Smith, a financial adviser who calls Pittsburgh his home. “The course is in great shape and I really liked our pace of play. I love the format of this tournament, playing in twosomes.”

Smith teed off at 8:24 in the morning and made six birdies in his round, needing only 27 putts for the day. He was already having lunch by 1 o’clock with half of the field still on the golf course.

“I’m just trying to hang around,” said Smith, a 2001 graduate of Allegheny College who is a true amateur golfer in the mold of Jay Sigel, a businessman whose golf game is strong enough to compete with the nation’s best amateurs.

Rohanna, who finished 10th in last year’s Northeast tourney, came out smoking hot on the back nine when he teed off at noon. The Penn State senior hit 17 of 18 greens, collected seven birdies against one three-putt bogey from 20 feet on No. 4 green, and lipped out three other birdie attempts.

“Geez,” he said when asked how low he could have gone. “I guess I could have shot a 60 if everything went in.”

Truth is, he might have shot lower than 60 if all of his near-misses found the cup instead of rimming out. It was the type of round that a number of golfers in this field could put together if they “get in the zone.”

Rohanna’s scoreboard featured six straight 3s to start the back nine and five more 3s on the front side. He settled for a par five on the 17th, which is normally a birdie hole for long hitters. The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder used a new driver he took home from the Titleist plant in Fairhaven, Mass. on Tuesday, using it off eight tees to good advantage, sending out 310-yard bombs that usually stayed in the fairway, setting up birdie attempts on virtually every hole he played.

“I made a bomb from 45 or 50 feet on No. 10 to start my round,” Rohanna said. “It was a big curler that just sneaked into the hole. Then I hit it close for a tap-in bird on No. 11. I birdied No. 13 from 18 inches and made around a 12-footer on No. 14.”

Four-under par after five holes, Rohanna then parred in on the back nine, which is normally the easier of the two nines for players of this caliber. Next came birdies on the first and second holes to go six-under par after 11 holes. The birdie at No. 2 came from three feet.

Rohanna started to return to earth on No. 3 green when he missed a 15-foot birdie putt. On the next hole, he drove into the right rough, sent his iron shot 20 feet to the right of the cup, left his first putt two feet short and then missed the second one for his only bogey of the day.

Undeterred, Rohanna hit it to 10 feet on No. 5 and barely missed a makeable birdie, then settled for a routine par from 20 feet on No. 6. A great wedge to eight feet set up yet another birdie putt on the 7th hole that he missed. Then came a failed birdie attempt on No. 8 from 15 feet and finally a 12-footer for bird on No. 9 to complete his round of 63.

Rohanna, whose family owns and operates a golf course in his hometown of Waynesburg (roughly 60 miles south of Pittsburgh), won five tournaments during his collegiate career and finished second in the Eastern Regionals last month. He will pick up a degree in kinesiology next year at Penn State and plans to spend this summer playing as many elite amateur tournaments as his schedule and tournament officials will permit.

“Right now, my main goal is to keep it going in this tournament,” he said. “And the key to doing that is to not hit the ball in the rough and don’t hit it above the cup on these greens.”

Smith and Rohanna have crossed paths during their travels around the Western Pa. golf circuit.

“Nathan and I are friends,” Rohanna said with a smile. “He makes everything (on the greens.)”
A total of 30 players shot par or better on Wednesday. Arizonan Philip Francis is alone in third place following a round of 65. Dan Woltman and Greg Forest shot 66s to tie for fourth place. Kevin Tway came in with a solid 67 and will draw a lot of attention in today’s second round.

Another Penn State golfer – Kevin Foley – shot 68.

Tiverton’s Charlie Blanchard made the best local showing, carding a 68 while playing with Georgia University junior Brian Harman, who positioned himself nicely with a round of 70. Peter Ulhlein, son of Titleist scion Wally Ulhlein, came home with a 69, as did yet another Western Pennsylvanian, Sean Knapp, who hails from Oakmont, Pa. – just outside of Pittsburgh.

University of Florida star Billy Horschel, who finished fourth last year, opened with a 70. He shot 62 in last year’s second round so look out for this guy. 2007 Northeast runnerup Drew Kittleson checked in with a 71.

Cumberland’s David Marino had some tough luck and finished with 73. He’ll try to make up some ground on the field today when he tees off the first hole at 8:08 a.m. Rohanna gets an 8 a.m. tee time at No. 1 while Nathan Smith will hit his first ball of the day off the 10th tee at 12:32 p.m.