Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale has successfully negotiated the PGA Tour Champions Q-school in the past, and this week he overcame the first of two hurdles in his quest to return to the world’s top 50-and-older golf circuit.
Rohrbaugh (left), who had conditional Champions status in 2015, finished 15th on Friday in one of two first-stage tournaments for senior Q-school. The top 26 players from the event in Nipton, Calif., will advance to the final stage of Q-school, set for Nov. 27-30 in Lutz, Fla., where five cards for 2019 will be distributed.
Rohrbaugh, the Colorado PGA’s Dow Finsterwald Player of the Year and the Senior Player of the Year in 2018, shot rounds of 73-68-71-70 for a 2-under-par total of 282 in Nipton. He made three birdies and two bogeys in the final round. The first seven holes of the course treated him well as he went a combined 7 under in that stretch over the four days.
Rohbaugh, winner of the 2013 CoBank Colorado Senior Open and three Colorado PGA Professional Championships, has competed in 11 PGA Tour Champions events in his career, including two majors this year. He also advanced to the final stage of Q-school last year, placing 57th.
Among the top 10 finishers on Friday were Jeff Gallagher, winner of the 2017 Colorado Senior Open (second place at 269), two-time Colorado Open champion Jim Blair (third place at 275) and 2000 PGA Championship runner-up Bob May (eighth at 279).
Here are the scores for the Coloradans who competed this week in the first stage of PGA Tour Champions Q-school in Nipton, Calif.
ADVANCES TO FINAL STAGE
15. Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale 73-68-71-70–282
FAILED TO ADVANCE
52. Coloradan Dean Sessions 77-73-75-77–302
For all the scores from Tipton, CLICK HERE.
