It was cool on Wednesday — bordering on cold, at least for late May — and the round was interrupted by a rainstorm that dumped four-tenths of an inch of rain, but Doug Rohrbaugh wasn’t fazed in the least.
The head professional at Ironbridge Golf Club in Glenwood Springs played as if the conditions were perfect on Wednesday, shooting a 7-under-par 65 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club and building a three-stroke lead after the first round of the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open.
The score was just one shot off the single-round record for the 14th annual event, set by Charley Yandell in 2004.
“If you go back to the last 12 months, that’s the best round I’ve played by far,” the 51-year-old Rohrbaugh said. “I hit it good, I putted good, I just did everything today.”
Rohrbaugh hit 16 greens in regulation, needed just 27 putts and went bogey-free for the round. He birdied his first three holes, making a 30-foot putt on No. 10 (his first hole) and a 20-footer on No. 11. And, after the weather delay, he drained a 15-foot birdie and an 11-footer with 2 1/2 feet of break.
(Pictured above, Rohrbaugh, right, confers with rules official Rich Langston during Wednesday’s round.)
Only one other player broke 70 on Wednesday as Gary Rusnak of Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., carded five birdies and a bogey en route to a 68. Colorado Springs-based professional Gregg Jones posted a 70 to stand in third place alone in the $50,000 event.
Colorado Springs native R.W. Eaks, the 2011 Senior Open champion and a four-time winner on the Champions Tour, shares fourth place at 71 with Paul Nolen of Tucson, Ariz.
Rohrbaugh, who qualified for the U.S. Senior Open last year, recently switched to a blade putter after using mallets for the last six years or so. The result was the 27-putt round, and on the two greens he missed, he sunk 4-foot par putts.
“I played at my course two days ago and from the tips I shot 69,” he said. “That’s what the doctor ordered. That’s what I needed. That was a good warmup. It gave me confidence, especially the putter. I rolled it good today.”
And Rohrbaugh said he caught a break when the rain delay came, which for him fell during his sixth hole. He had left much of his cold-weather gear in his car to start the round, and was regretting it by the time tournament officials blew the horn. But the delay gave him a chance to bring the heavy-duty stuff out for when play resumed.
“I brought it all,” he said. “I kept the mittens on — and that’s key for me. If I keep my hands warm, I can still putt.”
Rohrbaugh turned 50 — and thus became eligible for the Colorado Senior Open — not long before the 2012 tournament. But the result of his Senior Open debut wasn’t what he wanted — 15th place — which just made him all the hungrier for this year’s tournament.
“I did not play well last year so that was disappointing,” he said. “So obviously this was a goal this year. I want to play well in this.”
The top 55 golfers and ties after Thursday’s second round will make the cut and play in Friday’s final round.
For scores from the Senior Open, CLICK HERE.
