If not for golf, Jackie Rogowicz thinks she might get a little bored. The course is always waiting after work, and most days, particularly in the summer, she finds it.
“In the winter, it’s a little harder,” says Rogowicz, a 23-year-old who works full-time at Penn Mutual Asset Management and competes nationally as an amateur.
Rogowicz falls in the in-between category of post-college and pre-mid-amateur.
“There’s not a ton of tournaments to play in for someone like me,” she said.
But despite that, Rogowicz has won three times since graduating college in 2019, claiming the Women’s Porter Cup title and Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur that summer and the Donna Andrews Invitational on Tuesday. Rogowicz played last year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur after qualifying off her World Amateur Golf Ranking (then No. 152) and has already played her way into this year’s tournament. It will be her fifth start in the national championship for female amateur.
Scores: Donna Andrews Invitational
“I wanted to turn professional when I was younger,” said Rogowicz, who was an Academic All-Big Ten honoree (and a reliable scorer) at Penn State, “and then as it got closer to actually doing so, I kind of realized that lifestyle wasn’t for me.”
It isn’t always easy to make the work-golf lifestyle she’s chosen balance out. The trickiest part is lining up her vacation days with tournaments. But a long weekend spent at Boonsboro Country Club in Lynchboro, Virginia, was well worth it.
Rogowicz not only walks away as winner of the third annual Donna Invitational, but also holds a new course record at Boonsboro. Her opening 6-under 66 included five birdies plus an eagle at the par-5 third. She bogeyed the 17th hole or it would have been lower.
Interestingly, Rogowicz said it wasn’t pretty at Boonsboro the past two years. Her putter carried her around undulating greens this time.
“That’s kind of what’s tricky about Boonsboro is there’s a lot of slope,” she said. “Having that going for me was really good.”
Rogowicz, a self-described streaky putter, followed with 68 and by that time, had a five-shot lead over Virginia Tech’s Becca DiNunzio heading into the final round. Her 1-over 73 dropped her to 9 under, and though DiNunzio got as close as one shot over the course of the afternoon, Rogowicz closed out the title by two shots.
Jackie Rogowicz during the Donna Andrews Invitational (Photo submitted)
Asked for the difference between her game now and when she was in college, Rogowicz offered short game and course management.
“For example today, I didn’t feel like I quite had my best stuff but I feel like I was able to manage it better,” she said after the final round. “I know myself better and my game better.”
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