Doug Rohrbaugh has led a charmed existence as a competitive golfer this year, and the 51-year-old Coloradan will need that to continue this week if he hopes to achieve his longtime goal of earning a Champions Tour card.
Given what Rohrbaugh has accomplished so far in 2013, it would be foolish to dismiss his chances of grabbing the brass ring at the final stage of Champions Tour qualifying, which runs Tuesday through Friday (Nov. 19-22) in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Just the fact that the PGA head professional at Ironbridge Golf Club in Glenwood Springs is still in the running for a Champions Tour card is rather remarkable. In fact, Rohrbaugh was almost literally down the road on Nov. 8 after the final round of the Champions regional qualifying tournament in Murrieta, Calif.
Rohrbaugh had followed up a third-round 66 — the best round of the tournament by two strokes — with a final-round 80.
“I was playing so badly, and I actually thought I shot an 81,” Rohrbaugh said in a recent phone interview. “I didn’t think I was even close” to earning one of the 16 available spots in the Q-school finals. A tournament official in the scoring area led him to believe that he would miss advancing by two or three strokes.
In fact, Rohrbaugh said, “I packed all the stuff in the car and I almost was going to leave right then.”
Fortunately, he didn’t. He decided to change his clothes at the clubhouse at Bear Creek Golf Club. While walking by, someone called his name and said he was wanted at the scoring table. There, he was told to check his hole-by-hole scores — to confirm he had shot 80 instead of 81. And when that was done, he was informed that he was in a three-way playoff for the last available spot in the finals, and that the other two players were waiting for him on the 10th tee, set to begin sudden death.
“I was in jeans, a T-shirt and tennis shoes” at the time, Rohrbaugh noted.
He quickly changed into his golf attire and was still getting his golf shirt on at the 10th tee box.
“I’m in disbelief,” he said.
And despite the fact that, through a draw, he had to play first, he gathered himself and hit a great tee shot and made a par on the first playoff hole, tying his two playing partners.
And on the second hole of sudden death, a par-5, Rohrbaugh hit a stellar 3-wood just over the back of the green with his second shot and made a 10-foot birdie to win the playoff. At a regional site where 16 players advanced to Q-school finals, Rohrbaugh finished 16th, winning a three-for-one playoff.
“I stood there and leaned against the cart and said, ‘What just happened?'” Rohrbaugh recalled. “I was in total shock. I didn’t have any time to think, period.”
And now, Rohrbaugh has the opportunity to parlay his good fortune into a spot on the Champions Tour in 2014. In this week’s 72-hole final stage of Q-school, the top five finishers will be fully exempt next year, while the next seven will have conditional status. The rest of the top 30 finishers and ties will be eligible to pre-qualify for most Champions Tour events next year.
What would it mean for Rohrbaugh to be one of the lucky dozen out of the 78-player finals to earn a 2014 tour card?
“It would certainly be a dream come true,” the Carbondale resident said. “It changes your whole life for the following year and if you play well it can change the rest of your life. I’ve always had that dream, like so many guys.”
It’s been a dream-like competitive season for Rohrbaugh in 2013, so anything is possible.
Here are a handful of his tournament highlights so far this year:
— He won the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open by six strokes, matching the largest victory margin in the event.
— He qualified for the U.S. Senior Open for the second consecutive year.
— He finished tied for third in the HealthOne Colorado Open.
— He won the Colorado Senior PGA Professional Championship for the second straight year.
— He became one of the oldest, if not the oldest, winner of the Colorado PGA Professional Championship.
— And he’s advanced to the final stage of Champions Tour qualifying.
— In addition, to show how much the stars have aligned for Rohrbaugh, his son, Tristan, a senior at Basalt High School, captured the 3A state high school title and earned a spot on the Boise State golf team beginning in the fall of 2014.
Appropriately, Doug and Tristan will be teaming up in Scottsdale as Tristan will be caddying for his dad this week.
But Doug Rohrbaugh knows as well as anyone that it will take his best to finish in the top dozen players this week. After all, the field includes numerous big-name players who have enjoyed success on the PGA and/or Champions Tour. That list includes Colorado Sports Hall of Famer Steve Jones, who counts the 1996 U.S. Open among his eight PGA Tour victories; Bill Glasson, a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour; and Steve Pate, winner of six PGA Tour events.
“I’ve got to play the way I did (in the third round of regional qualifying — the 66); no doubt about that,” Rohrbaugh said. “The third round gave me the feeling I can play with these guys. I’ve got to play the way I’ve played most of the year, and I’ve got to go in with the attitude of winning this. I have to play my A-plus game.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m a big underdog. But I needed the year I had to say, ‘Yes, I’m good enough’.”
Besides Rohrbaugh and Jones, players with Colorado ties competing in the final stage of Champions Tour qualifying are Gary Hallberg of Castle Rock, winner of three PGA Tour events and one Champions Tour tournament; and Mike Reid, who spent part of his high school years at Cherry Creek.
The finals field also includes four players who have won the Colorado Open: Jones, Jim Blair, Doug Dunakey and Willie Wood.
The winner of this week’s final-stage tournament will earn $30,000.
