Doug Rohrbaugh apparently had come too far to be denied.
The 53-year-old golf professional from Carbondale this week has traveled from Shoal Creek, Ala., where he competed in the Regions Tradition on the Champions Tour, to French Lick, Ind., where he played a practice round for the Senior PGA Championship, and then to Denver to attempt to qualify for yet another senior major, the U.S. Senior Open.
He did indeed accomplish the task on Wednesday, and in dramatic fashion.
The PGA director of golf at Ironbridge Golf Club in Glenwood Springs hit his second shot into the water on the par-4 18th hole at Cherry Creek Country Club and appeared destined to fall short of his goal. Then, after taking a drop 98 yards from the flag, the improbable happened as he holed the shot for a far-from-routine par. (Above, he celebrated with fellow competitor Jeff Hanson.)
“How big was that dunk on the last hole? Wow,” said Rohrbaugh, who has conditional status on the Champions Tour this year. “(Son and caddie) Tristan literally before I dropped my ball goes, ‘Now drop it in a good spot so you can hole it.’ Then I spun it back in the hole.”
But even though that give him a 2-under-par 70, he still had work to do to earn a berth in the U.S. Senior Open, which will be played June 25-28 in Sacramento, Calif.
The 70 left Rohrbaugh in a sudden-death playoff for the second and final national berth available at Cherry Creek CC. Michael Grob (left), a former PGA Tour player from Billings, Mont., had earned medalist honors with a 5-under-par 67 in temperatures that hovered in the 40s. And amateur David Delich of Colorado Springs had matched Rohrbaugh’s 70 following a 3-under-par 33 on his back nine.
In the playoff, Rohrbaugh pulled his tee shot left near some trees. “I’m wondering if I’m even going to have (a second) shot,” he said. “I just squeaked a backswing — I mean, just.” With that, Rohrbaugh hit his approach long and left of the green with a hybrid.
With the upper hand in the middle of the fairway, but a little indecisive about his club selection, Delich hit his approach shot short and into the lake that borders the hole on the right.
But the former Colorado College hockey standout feathered a nice wedge shot after his drop to about 2 1/2 feet from the cup. When Rohrbaugh failed to get up and down and made a bogey, Delich had a short putt to force a second playoff hole, but pushed it right of the hole, ending his chances.
“I made a poor stroke,” said Delich (left), the 2012 CGA Senior Player of the Year. “I was jumping forward and already thinking about the result, not the process. … You shouldn’t miss 25-, 30-inch putts when you need to make them. I missed it and let Doug off the hook. So it’s a little frustrating.”
The result sent Rohrbaugh back to French, Lick, Ind. — where he’ll begin play Thursday in the Senior PGA — with a smile on his face. He’s now assured of playing in at least three of the five Champions Tour majors this year.
“This makes my whole attitude going back (to Indiana) totally different,” said Rohrbaugh, who anticipated arriving back in his French Lick hotel about 1:30 a.m. Thursday, roughly 13 hours ahead of his first-round tee time for the Senior PGA. “Now in my mind, (all the traveling back and forth) was worth it.”
Rohrbaugh, winner of the 2013 HealthOne Colorado Senior Open and the last two Colorado PGA Professional Championships, earned a berth into the U.S. Senior Open for the third time in the last four years.
“It’s another step in my goal,” said Rohrbaugh, who posted a 15th-place finish on the Champions Tour last month. “This year is different in a way; I look at it as I’m getting to do my dream (playing on the senior circuit). The previous (Senior Opens) were like, ‘Wow, awesome.’ But this is a different year for me where my whole goal is the (Champions) Tour. It’s another tour event — and it’s a major — but it’s another event on the tour. My mentality is different in the approach when I get there. It’s not the deer in the headlights.”
On Wednesday, Rohrbaugh (left) qualified despite hitting only seven greens in regulation by needing just 21 putts on the day in regulation, a career-best. He made three birdies and one bogey overall. On the last two holes of regulation, he drained a 10-foot par putt on 17 and didn’t need his putter on 18.
“I hit it so bad,” he said. “I couldn’t have squeaked another shot out of that round. But God did I roll it good. Everything was just center cut.”
Grob, who played on the PGA Tour in 2003 and ’04 with a best finish of fifth, qualified for his first USGA championship as a 51-year-old.
Despite never playing Cherry Creek CC before Wednesday, he made seven birdies and shot a 5-under-par 31 on his final nine holes, the front side.
The Montanan admits he was a little surprised by how well he performed without having ever played the course beforehand.
“They have a nice video on the website that shows every hole, so I went through that with my yardage book,” Grob said. “So I got a pretty good feel for it, though it’s not like playing it. I had to tiptoe around a few shots. They told me it was straightforward and you could see pretty much what you need to see. I trusted them on that and they were right. It worked out well.”
U.S. Senior Open Qualifying
At Par-72 Cherry Creek CC in Denver
QUALIFIED FOR U.S. SENIOR OPEN
Michael Grob, Billings, Mont., 31-36–67
Doug Rohrbaugh, Carbondale, Colo., 37-33–70
ALTERNATES (IN ORDER)
David Delich, Colorado Springs, Colo., 33-37–70
Bill Loeffler, Castle Rock, Colo., 35-36–71
FAILED TO QUALIFY
Rick Cole, Eaton, Colo., 36-36–72
Dan Falagrady, Denver, Colo., 34-39–73
Barry Conser, Scottsdale, Ariz., 36-37–73
Mark Armistead, Lone Tree, Colo., 36-38–74
John Hornbeck, Saratoga, Wyo., 36-38–74
Michael Cunning, Phoenix, Ariz., 35-39–74
Gregg Jones, Colorado Springs, Colo., 38-37–75
Dale Smigelsky, Fort Collins, Colo., 39-36–75
Matt Hall, Grand Junction, Colo., 37-39–76
Kent Moore, Cherry Hills Village, Colo., 37-39–76
Kevin Bolles, Louisville, Colo., 37-39–76
Rob McLelland, Aurora, Colo., 37-39–76
Don Graham, Fountain Hills, Ariz., 36-41–77
Michael Musgrave, Fort Collins, Colo., 37-40–77
Harry Johnson, Edwards, Colo., 38-39–77
Ron Vlosich, Lakewood, Colo., 38-39–77
Terry Lorenz, Littleton, Colo., 38-39–77
Mike Northern, Colorado Springs, Colo., 38-39–77
Bob Maggard, Parker, Colo., 39-39–78
Robert Cloud, Denver, Colo., 39-39–78
Jeff Hanson, Edwards, Colo., 36-42–78
Daniel Reedy, Boulder, Colo., 42-36–78
Rick Uhlir, Boulder, Colo., 40-38–78
Gregory Sharp, Lawrence, Kan., 39-39–78
Robert Polk, Parker, Colo., 39-39–78
Audie Dean, Centennial, Colo., 35-43–78
Shawn Wilcox, Denver, Colo., 38-41–79
Scott Hart, Aurora, Colo., 40-39–79
Peach Reynolds, Austin, Texas, 38-41–79
Doug Perry, Fort Collins, Colo., 39-40–79
Russ Aragon, Aspen, Colo., 41-38–79
John Olive, Phoenix, Ariz., 39-40–79
Thomas Anderson, Laurel, Mont., 37-42–79
George Andrews III, Pueblo, Colo., 39-40–79
Dave Balling, Cody, Wyo., 39-40–79
Brad Grattan, Whitefish, Mont., 39-40–79
John Hoge, Parker, Colo., 37-42–79
Tom Krause, Centennial, Colo., 40-39–79
Thomas Walter, Parker, Colo., 38-42–80
Steve Norman, Colorado Springs, Colo., 41-39–80
Todd Follmer, Park City, Utah, 39-41–80
Tom Carricato, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 42-38–80
Sam Chapman, Parker, Colo., 36-45–81
Thomas Roos, Centennial, Colo., 38-43–81
Paul Brown, Grand Junction, Colo., 39-43–82
Dean Sessions, Westminster, Colo., 40-43–83
David Merritt, Castle Pines, Colo., 39-44–83
Lynden Tennison, Omaha, Neb., 40-43–83
Charlie Post, Castlerock, Colo., 42-41–83
Greg Parson, Littleton, Colo., 43-41–84
Paul Lobato, Denver, Colo., 42-42–84
Michael Riley, Glenwood Springs, Colo., 42-42–84
George Kahrhoff, Castle Rock, Colo., 42-42–84
Rick Ellefson, Castle Rock, Colo., 44-40–84
William Oshields, Aurora, Colo., 40-45–85
Richard Wilson Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo., 41-44–85
John Ward, Denver, Colo., 44-41–85
Marshall Clark, Denver, Colo., 41-45–86
Darryl Wilson, Poncha Springs, Colo., 43-43–86
Michael Larson, Longmont, Colo., 41-45–86
Pat Bucci, Littleton, Colo., 40-47–87
Mike Reehl, Indio, Calif., 45-42–87
Scott Crone, Denver, Colo., 39-48–87
Tom Fox, New Canaan, Conn., 47-41–88
Gary Hoffman, Aurora, Colo., 44-45–89
Mark Barkley, Highlands Ranch, Colo., 46-45–91
Owen Ellis, Boulder, Colo., 43-49–92
Randy Kippes, Greenwood Village, Colo., 45-47–92
Harold Garrison, Fort Collins, Colo., 48-44–92
Scott Sullivan, Grand Junction, Colo., WD
Bruce Hayes, Golden, Colo., WD
Timothy Davis, Lubbock, Texas, WD
Tom Nosewicz, Aurora, Colo., WD
Michael Zaremba, Pueblo West, Colo., WD
