When it comes to PGA Tour Champions golf, much of the attention at this point is understandably focused on the U.S. Senior Open given that The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs is hosting the event June 28-July 1.
But there’s another senior major coming up this weekend, and a couple of Coloradans recently learned they’ll be joining the field of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, set for Thursday through Sunday in Benton Harbor, Mich.
Both Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale and Chris Johnson of Castle Rock, two Colorado PGA professionals, earned a spot into the field off the alternate list after other players withdrew.
Not only did Rohrbaugh, winner of the 2013 CoBank Colorado Senior Open and three Colorado PGA Professional Championships, get into the field, he drew a high-powered pairing for the first two days. At 11:40 a.m. MT on Thursday and 6:30 a.m. MT on Friday, he’ll tee off with Miguel Angel Jimenez, winner of last week’s Regions Tradition, and Scott McCarron. Between them, Jimenez and McCarron have won 11 times on PGA Tour Champions, including two senior majors.
Rohrbaugh had conditional status on PGA Tour Champions in 2015 and has played in three U.S. Senior Opens and two previous Senior PGA Championships.
Meanwhile, Johnson will be paired with Neal Lancaster and James Mason at 7 a.m. MT on Thursday and at 12:10 MT on Friday. Johnson won the Colorado PGA Professional Championship in 2010.
Both Rohrbaugh and Johnson had been alternates by virtue of their performances last October in the Senior PGA Professional Championship, where Johnson finished 38th out of 264 players and Rohrbaugh 43rd.
Should Rohrbaugh and/or Johnson make the 36-hole cut in the Senior PGA, they’ll face a quick turnaround. On Monday, both are in the field for U.S. Senior Open qualifying at The Broadmoor.
Among the other players in the Senior PGA this weekend are Niwot resident Gary Hallberg and former Cherry Creek High School golfer Mike Reid.
(May 25 Update: Both Rohrbaugh (76-76) and Johnson (77-76) missed the 36-hole cut, along with Reid (70-77). Hallberg (72-71) made the cut on the number.)
