The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WITH the party back in her backyard for the fourth consecutive year, Georgette Rolle was hoping that her third appearance in the main draw of the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic would have been better than the previous two in 2013 and 2014.

While she gave it a gallant effort, her 82-85 for a two-day total of 21-over-par 167 was no where near what she anticipated. She finished at the bottom of the pile of the 109 golfers who played in the first two rounds of the main draw qualifying on Thursday and Friday at the Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island.

“I played really well, but looking back, I did what I was supposed to do on a lot of the holes, but I fell down on a few and that made the difference,” said Rolle, who returned to the classic after she relinquished her spot last year to Raquel Riley. “I just have to figure out how to play with my collegiate on those holes that I messed up on and I will be right there with them.”

Unfortunately for Rolle, she won’t get this opportunity to showcase her skills before the Bahamian crowd unless she qualifies for next year’s event as the Pure Silk Classic was the only one of the Ladies Professional Golf Association’s 33 tournaments that will graced those shores for this year.

Rolle, 30, admitted that she knew one of her downfalls was the lack of tournament play.

“I could have played more tournaments leading up to it,” said Rolle, who didn’t get to play any tournaments outside of the country last year. “These girls play about 30 tournaments a year so they are doing this week in and week out, but I still felt I had a chance to play with them. I just need to play more events so that I can get into the groove of things. But I will definitely use this as a learning experience.”

Over the two days of competition, Rolle said she just wanted to play well enough to put up some respectable numbers in her bid to survive the first cut on Saturday.

“I think if I had made a few more shorter shots, it would have been a bit different,” she said. “I got to watch some of my performances on golf channel and I saw where I made some critical mistakes in my short game. I hit the ball to their level and I think I showed that I could play at this level. I just need to make sure that I get in some more tournament play so that I can be sharper when the tournament rolls around again.”

If there was anything that Rolle felt she could take away from her appearance in the tournament, it would be that she was able to persevere.

“Even when I had a couple of poor holes here and there, although it was difficult to shake off, I had to remind myself that I still had to play, so I just shook it off and payed,” said Rolle, who was encouraged by her caddie Ricardo Davis and the group of Bahamians who supported her on the sidelines. “I never gave up. There were some players who withdrew for whatever reason, but I stuck in there, I held my head high and although it wasn’t what I expected, I got through it.

“Obviously, with this being my third time in the tournament, I expected a little more, so it was a lot to swallow, but I still held my head high and I played as well as I could under the circumstances.”

As the face of the Bahamas in the tournament, Rolle said it’s not an easy task playing against the top notch female golfers in the world. But she hopes that her effort was worthy of some commendation and not so much ridicule that she received previously when she didn’t survive the cut.

“It’s not easy playing out there,” she said. “I think I played as well as I could, but there is a lot of pressure because you want to do very well in a a setting like this here at home. “

And having to walk the course to play the 73 holes, Rolle said it was a bit more draining, but like everybody else, she had to endure it.

“The rest of the golfers have developed a really good regimen, putting in about 10 hours gym time per week, which is pretty decent for golfers and the rest of the time is practicing on the course,” Rolle said. “I don’t really feel it right now because I’m pretty active, but mentally it was draining. I didn’t set an alarm last night (Saturday) because I was done. So it was good to get in a little bit of sleep.”

The teaching professional in the Bahamas Golf Federation, however, acknowledged that she will now have to concentrate on getting ready for the LPGA Tour this year. She will skip the next tournament in Florida this week where the majority of the players from the tournament will be participating. But she said in early March when the tour returns to Florida, she’s hoping to make the trek there to compete.

“I’m still thinking about the world ranking points, but the only way to get them is that you have to play in the tournaments,” Rolle said. “I do see where I have to make my improvement, so I will see where I go from there.”

One of the hindrances in accomplishing her goals is finances. Rolle said she has a couple of sponsors who assist her, but she’s still looking for as much support as she can from corporate Bahamas because it’s a costly venture to compete on the tour.

“I could definitely see myself playing on the tour on a regular basis,” Rolle said. “So I just need the chance. It’s costly to do it, but if there are persons out there who are willing to help, I would appreciate it.”

By competing on the tour, it will also open the door for her to be able to make the trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she will need to be one of the field of 60 golfers who qualify to compete in August.

“It will take me playing well in the tournaments to do it,” Rolle said. “But I think once I can get out there and play more tournaments, I will get a chance to be able to compete.”

If she does qualify, it will be the first time that the Bahamas will appear in the biggest four-yearly global event in the sport of golf.