Doug Rohrbaugh has made improbable accomplishments seem almost commonplace over the last couple of years.
And the head professional at Ironbridge Golf Club in Glenwood Springs did it again on Wednesday at the Colorado PGA Professional Championship.
This time around, these were the two new notches on Rohrbaugh’s belt:
— The Carbondale resident became the first player in the 21st century to win two consecutive CPGA Professional Championships. Ken Krieger was the last to manage the feat, winning three in a row from 1996 through ’98.
— At age 52, Rohrbaugh is believed to be the oldest winner of the Colorado PGA Section’s championship. In fact, he was thought to be the oldest last year when he won.
“I was so thrilled last year,” he said. “Now to do it again — man! It feels good, boy. It really feels good.”
Rohrbaugh made it all look relatively easy on Wednesday, cruising to a five-stroke victory at Todd Creek Golf Club in Thornton. He shot a 3-under-par 69 in the final round, giving him a 12-under 204 total. The victory was worth $8,000 out of the $55,000 purse.
Matt Schalk (pictured above in green congratulating Rohrbaugh) finished runner-up for the second time in three years. This time, the director of golf at Colorado National Golf Club and the Fox Hill Club closed with a 72 for a 209 total. Mike Zaremba of Desert Hawk, winner of the 1987 and ’99 championships, ended with a 68 to place third at 211.
Those three, along with the next five on the leaderboard, qualified for the 2015 PGA Professional National Championship, scheduled for June 28-July 1 in Philadelphia. Joining Rohrbaugh, Schalk and Zaremba in earning those berths were Geoff Keffer of Murphy Creek (212), Rob Hunt of The Links (213), Kyle Voska of The Links (214), three-time HealthOne Colorado Open champion Bill Loeffler of The Links (214) and Doug Wherry of Jake’s Academy (214).
This week’s performance was an extension of the stellar play demonstrated by Rohrbaugh (left) since 2012. In that two-plus year period, he’s won the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open, the Colorado PGA Professional Championship and the Colorado Senior PGA Professional Championship (all in 2013), qualified for the U.S. Senior Open in both 2012 and ’13, and then won the Section title again on Wednesday.
“It’s amazing what the confidence level has been after the (2013) Colorado Senior Open. That just changed everything,” he said.
At Todd Creek, while the battle for the national tournament spots went on throughout the day, it quickly became a two-man competition for the championship between Rohrbaugh and Schalk.
Twice — after a Schalk birdie on the first hole and after a two-shot swing on No. 8 where Schalk birdied and Rohrbaugh made his only bogey — Schalk (left) crept within a stroke. But that was as close as it got.
“I was playing well, but I just couldn’t get any putts to fall,” said Schalk, who has posted top-eight finishes in this event for three straight years. “I had a ton of putts on the edge. And he played the same as he did the last two days — real consistent. He wasn’t going to make any mistakes. You definitely had to go win this tournament; he wasn’t going to give it to you.”
The turning point came on the stretch from holes 9 through 12. After seeing his lead dwindle to one, Rohrbaugh picked up a shot on each one of those four holes to increase his lead to five and basically put the tournament on ice. Schalk bogeyed 9, 10 and 11, then Rohrbaugh knocked in a 6-foot birdie on 12. On No. 13, Schalk made a 5-foot birdie, but only after Rohrbaugh drained a 25-footer for birdie.
“That stretch was huge,” Rohrbaugh said. “It just relaxed me a lot from that point. I didn’t have to take any chances or go pin-seeking.”
The overall key, Rohrbaugh (below) said, was a putter he only put into play during a practice round on Sunday. He had used it for the second half of last season, but it fell out of favor this year — until this week.
“This one I can definitely pin on one club — and it was the putter,” he said. “On Sunday I brought it with me for a practice round. Oh my, was that a good decision. The first day I had 24 putts. Yesterday had to be similar. And today I still putted good.
“I felt like I could make everything I looked at all week. That’s a good feeling. I putted so good the first day and it carried over every day. The 3-footer I missed on 8 today was my only missed putt inside 10 feet for the week.”
Though Schalk obviously was looking to win, he was happy with his performance under the circumstances.
“This is my first stroke-play tournament in probably 10 months, so I was a little bit uncomfortable at times,” he said. “But I was happy with how I played. My goal was to get to 12 under — that was the ultimate number — but I just didn’t get there.
“Doug is a good player. He manages the courses very well. He’s not overly long, but he hits it in the right places and he has a great short game.”
Rohrbaugh plans again this year to go through the Champions Tour qualifying process. He made it to the final stage last year, but fell short of earning any status.
Colorado PGA Professional Championship
Sept. 8-10, 2014 (final) at Par-72 Todd Creek GC in Thornton
Top 10 Finishers — 1. Doug Rohrbaugh 67-68-69–204; 2. Matt Schalk 68-69-72–209; 3. Mike Zaremba 72-71-68–211; 4. Geoff Keffer 70-71-71–212; 5. Rob Hunt 66-78-69–213; 6. (tie) Kyle Voska 72-73-69–214; Bill Loeffler 70-70-74–214; Doug Wherry 69-70-75–214; 9. Bobby Quaratino 76-69-71–216; 10. (tie) Travis Morton 71-77-70–218; Ari Papadopoulos 67-78-73–218. For complete results, CLICK HERE.
