With the top 27 finishers in the Regional Q-school tournament in Nipton, Calif., advancing to the Q-school finals, Rohrbaugh punched his ticket by tying for 20th place on Friday.
The director of golf at Ironbridge Golf Club improved each day at Primm Valley Golf Club’s Lakes Course, posting scores of 73-72-71-68 for a 284 total. That was three strokes better than the golfers who played off for the 27th and final spot.
Rohrbaugh, winner of three Colorado PGA Professional Championships and the 2013 CoBank Colorado Senior Open, will move on to the Q-school finals, set for Nov. 28-Dec. 1 in Scottsdale, Ariz. There, the top five finishers will earn PGA Tour Champions cards for 2018.
Over the years, Rohrbaugh (pictured) has competed in nine PGA Tour Champions events, including three U.S. Senior Opens and two Senior PGA Championships.
The other Coloradan playing in the Regional tournament was Dean Sessions, who finished 58th at 313 after a final-round 77 on Friday.
Kevin Stone won the Regional tournament in Nipton with a 263 total. The runner-up was two-time Colorado Senior Open champion Greg Bruckner of Phoenix (269). Another Colorado Senior Open champion to advance to the final stage was 2017 winner Jeff Gallagher (277),
Here are the scores for the Colorado competitors:
At Primm Valley Golf Club’s Lakes Course in Nipton, Calif.
(Top 27 Finishers Advance to Q-school Finals)
Advances to Finals
20. Doug Rohrbaugh 73-72-71-68–284
Failed to Advance
58. Dean Sessions 77-79-80-77–313
Coincidentally, the top 27 players after Friday’s last round will advance to the Q-school finals, set for Nov. 28-Dec. 1 in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The three-time Colorado PGA Professional Champion and 2013 CoBank Colorado Senior Open winner shot a 71 on Thursday. That leaves Rohrbaugh at 216, 17 strokes behind leader Kevin Stone. Two-time Colorado Senior Open winner Greg Bruckner remains in second place at 201.
Rohrbaugh (pictured) had conditional status on PGA Tour Champions in 2015 and is hoping to regain his card.
The other Coloradan competing in the Regional tournament at Primm Valley Golf Club’s Lakes Course, Dean Sessions, fired an 80 on Thursday, checking in at 236, good for a share of 59th place.
Here are the scores for the Colorado competitors:
At Primm Valley Golf Club’s Lakes Course in Nipton, Calif.
(Top 27 Finishers Advance to Q-school Finals)
27. Doug Rohrbaugh 73-72-71–216
59. Dean Sessions 77-79-80–236
The three-time Colorado PGA Professional Champion and 2013 CoBank Colorado Senior Open winner followed up a first-round 73 with a 72 on Wednesday, leaving him tied for 35th place at 145.
Rohrbaugh had conditional status on PGA Tour Champions in 2015.
The top 27 finishers after 72 holes will advance to the Q-school finals, set for Nov. 28-Dec. 1 in Scottsdale, Ariz. Rohrbaugh (pictured) currently sits two strokes out of being in the top 27 and 13 shots behind leader Kevin Stone (65-67). Two-time Colorado Senior Open champion Greg Bruckner is in second place at 133.
The other Coloradan competing in the Regional tournament at Primm Valley Golf Club’s Lakes Course, Dean Sessions, stands in 62nd place at 156.
Here are the scores for the Colorado competitors:
At Primm Valley Golf Club’s Lakes Course in Nipton, Calif.
(Top 27 Finishers Advance to Q-school Finals)
35. Doug Rohrbaugh 73-72–145
62. Dean Sessions 77-79–156
Two Colorado residents are competing at the Nipton, Calif., regional, where the top 27 finishers after 72 holes will advance to the Q-school finals, set for Nov. 28-Dec. 1 in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Doug Rohrbaugh (pictured) of Carbondale, who had conditional status on the PGA Tour Champions circuit in 2015, shot a 73 on Tuesday and shares 29th place out of a field of 74. Rohrbaugh, winner of the 2013 CoBank Colorado Senior Open and three Colorado PGA Professional Championships, trails leaders Kevin Stone and Bob Soards by eight strokes.
Among those tied for third at 67 are Colorado Senior Open champions Jeff Gallagher and Greg Bruckner, along with Keith Clearwater, a PGA Tour winner who’s also competed at the CSO in recent years.
Dean Sessions, like Rohrbaugh a Coloradan, opened with a 77 on Tuesday and shares 54th place.
Here are the scores for the Colorado competitors:
At Primm Valley Golf Club’s Lakes Course in Nipton, Calif.
(Top 27 Finishers Advance to Q-school Finals)
29. Doug Rohrbaugh 73
54. Dean Sessions 77
Rohrbaugh (left), the director of golf at Ironbridge Golf Club who had conditional status on the Champions circuit in 2015, shares 21st place after Thursday’s third round of a regional qualifying tournament in San Jacinto, Calif.
The top 16 finishers after Friday’s fourth round will advance to the final stage of Q-school, set for Nov. 29-Dec. 2 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. As of Thursday, Rohrbaugh was three strokes out of 16th place.
The winner of three straight Colorado PGA Professional Championships (2013-15), Rohbaugh posted a 74 Thursday to check in at 224 overall.
Two-time CoBank Colorado Senior Open champion Greg Bruckner of Phoenix holds third place at 208, while two-time Colorado Open winner Jim Blair of Utah is tied for 15th place at 221.
Here are the scores for the Coloradans competing in PGA Tour Champions regional qualifying tournaments this week:
Nov. 15-18 in San Jacinto, Calif. (top 16 finishers advance to final stage)
21. Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale 75-75-74–224
Nov. 15-18 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (top 23 finishers advance to final stage)
63. Dean Sessions of Westminster 80-82-80–242
The winner of three straight Colorado PGA Professional Championships (2013-15), Rohbaugh has shot rounds of 75-75 on the first two days of a regional qualifying tournament in San Jacinto, Calif. Rohrbaugh shares 24th place, and the top 16 finishers after Friday’s fourth round will advance to the final stage of Q-school, set for Nov. 29-Dec. 2 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. After two rounds, Rohrbaugh was four strokes out of the 16th spot.
At the final stage, the top five finishers will be fully exempt on PGA Tour Champions in 2017.
Two-time CoBank Colorado Senior Open champion Greg Bruckner of Phoenix shares third place at 139 in San Jacinto, while two-time Colorado Open winner Jim Blair of Utah is tied for 16th place.
Here are the scores for the Coloradans competing in PGA Tour Champions regional qualifying tournaments this week:
Nov. 15-18 in San Jacinto, Calif. (top 16 finishers advance to final stage)
24. Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale 75-75–150
Nov. 15-18 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (top 23 finishers advance to final stage)
63. Dean Sessions of Westminster 80-82–162
Two of those events are definitely in the cards, barring the unforeseen. And the third will depend on how this week’s tournament plays out.
Rohrbaugh — the 2013 HealthOne Colorado Senior Open champion, and the winner of the last two Colorado PGA Professional Championships — will compete in a Champions Tour regional qualifying tournament this week in Murrieta, Calif. The event, one of three scheduled around the country, runs Tuesday through Friday and features a field of 51 competitors.
If Rohrbaugh, the head professional at Ironbridge Golf Club in Glenwood Springs, is among the top finishers (the exact number will be determined on Tuesday), he’ll earn a spot in the final stage of Champions Tour qualifying, set for Nov. 18-21 in Winter Garden, Fla. The top five finishers there will be fully exempt on the 2015 Champions Tour, with the next seven having conditional status.
And in between the regionals and finals of Champions Q-school, Rohrbaugh is scheduled to play in the Senior PGA Professional National Championship Nov. 13-16 in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
That’s what you call cramming a lot of tournament golf into a short time frame.
Rohrbaugh made it to the final stage of Champions Q-school last year, but fell short of earning a card by placing 48th.
Rohrbaugh will be one of five Coloradans competing in Champions Tour regional qualifying this week. Tom Carricato of Highlands Ranch will also be in Murrieta, while Sam Chapman of Parker and Mike Musgrave of Fort Collins will play in Montgomery, Texas, where 53 are in the field, and Dean Sessions of Westminster will be in Winter Garden, Fla., where 75 are scheduled to play.
Among the others competing in regionals are former Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien, who won the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship this year; five-time PGA Tour winner Blaine McCallister; two-time Colorado Open champion Jim Blair; and Steve Schneiter, who qualified for the 2014 U.S. Senior Open in Colorado this year.
A couple of players with strong Colorado ties are exempt into the final stage of Champions Tour qualifying — 1996 U.S. Open champion and Colorado Sports Hall of Famer Steve Jones, and onetime Champions Tour winner Gary Hallberg of Parker. Former Colorado Open champ Willie Wood also falls into that category.