Life may not start at 50, but you wouldn’t know it from the case of Doug Rohrbaugh and his born-again golf career.

On Wednesday, the director of golf from Ironbridge Golf Club in Glenwood Springs added another chapter to the stellar playing career he’s put together since reaching the big 5-0.

Not only did Rohrbaugh match a record by winning his third consecutive Colorado PGA Professional Championship, but he continues to break the standard he’s previously set by claiming the title at unprecedented ages.

The 53-year-old did it again Wednesday at Meridian Golf Club in Englewood, though this one was more of a challenge than the previous two victories in the event. This time around, he fended off a late charge from Valley Country Club head professional Barry Milstead by draining a 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole to post a two-stroke victory.

The win, worth $8,000, made Rohrbaugh the first player since Ken Krieger (1996-98) to claim three straight Colorado PGA Professional Championships. Ron Vlosich (1991-93) is believed to be the only other player to three-peat in the 58-year history of the tournament. (Rohrbaugh is pictured at left and above with runner-up Milstead.)

“That was everything,” Rohrbaugh said of his quest for three straight victories. “To be honest, that was my goal coming in. Yes, you’re trying to win, but knowing the three-peat hadn’t been done much, I was definitely thinking about it. To want a three-peat and do it, that makes it sweeter. It means a lot. It was more than just a win.”

Besides claiming three straight Colorado PGA Professional Championships since turning 50, Rohrbaugh has also captured the 2013 HealthOne Colorado Senior Open title, finished third at the 2013 HealthOne Colorado Open as a 51-year-old, won the 2012 and ’13 Colorado Senior PGA Professional Championship, and has earned conditional status on the 2015 Champions Tour.

“I don’t get it,” he admits of his status as a late bloomer. “I still can’t answer the question people ask me: Why? I think it’s a lot of things. I always thought I could play the Tour but I tried the regular Q-school twice and didn’t even get past first stage. It was a bit letdown. Then when 50 was coming it was like, ‘Here’s my second chance.’ So it got me excited, fired me up. That was a big part of it, knowing there was another chance.”

After winning the Colorado PGA Professional Championship by five each of the past two years, this one wasn’t settled until the final green. With Milstead one-putting for birdie and par, respectively on the final two par-3s (Nos. 15 and 17) while Rohrbaugh made bogeys, Milstead picked up three shots, leaving the margin at one going into the par-4 18th. There, both players had birdie putts of about 20 feet, and Milstead had his attempt online, but left it short.

“I did a lot of that today,” said Milstead (left and below). “I left a lot of putts short. (The one on 18) may or may not have gone in the hole, but I probably left four or five or six putts short and going in the right direction.”

Rohrbaugh, who said he hadn’t been nervous on his previous two shots on 18, got a few butterflies over his birdie putt.

“I realized I just had to two-putt,” the Carbondale resident said. “I wasn’t even trying to make it. I was just trying to get it up as close as I could. When it was about 3 feet out, I started to walk because I had a feeling it had a chance. Sure enough (it went in), and that certainly makes it a little sweeter.”

Rohrbaugh, who took a two-stroke lead into the final round, shot a 1-over-par 73 on Wednesday, the same as Milstead. Rohrbaugh finished at 5-under-par 211 overall, while Milstead (213) was the only other player who ended up under par.

Those two, along with the next six finishers, qualified for the 2016 PGA Professional National Championship, set for June 26-29 in Verona, N.Y. The other PNC qualifiers were Ari Papadopoulos (216), two-time CPGA Professional Championship winner Rob Hunt (217), University of Denver men’s golf coach Erik Billinger (218), Jeff Hanson (218), 2013 PGA Championship competitor Caine Fitzgerald (219) and Doug Wherry (219). Fitzgerald and Wherry each birdied the second hole of a sudden-death qualifying playoff that featured six competitors.

The battle for the CPGA Professional Championship title was largely a two-man affair on Wednesday, though Papadoupolos was 3 under for the tournament through 51 holes before finishing with three consecutive bogeys.

After Rohrbaugh (left) began the day with a bogey, Milstead earned a tie for the lead with a birdie on No. 2. But after the pro from Valley went bogey-double bogey on Nos. 4 and 5, Rohrbaugh never lost the outright lead again.

Though Milstead hit a few errant tee shots on the back nine Wednesday, he scrambled well enough to leave himself just one down going into 18.

“Down the stretch, I figured if I could hang around and make a few putts or make a birdie or two to get closer to him, we’d see what happened,” Milstead said. “I got within one going into 18, but I couldn’t quite catch him. Doug played great and hung in there. He’s a deserving champion.

“I played really well yesterday (67), which got me into position. I wish I had hit the ball as well as I did the first two days because I hit it great. I couldn’t quite hit it as well today.”

But overall, while he was disappointed in not landing the win, Milstead took some satisfaction in his best finish ever at the CPGA Professional Championship.

“I haven’t played a whole lot this year, so it’s good to see I’ve still got a lot of good shots in me,” the 48-year-old said. “We’ll take a lot of good things out of this week.”

As for Rohrbaugh, he wasn’t at his best either on Wednesday, which he attributes to having three-peat-itis on his mind.

“My golf today reflected that,” he said. “I did not play well today. My irons were off. I was nervous; there’s no question I was nervous. This one was harder than the first two because of that, but I managed to scrape it in there.”

Rohrbaugh, whose best finish out of six Champions Tour events this year is a 15th place, will take some momentum into his last four attempts at Monday qualifying for tournaments. If he can climb from 103rd to inside the top 75 on the final 2015 money list, he’ll earn an automatic spot in the final stage of Champions Tour Q-school.

“This is exactly what I needed heading out to the next four qualifiers,” he said. “I’m certainly feeling more confident and more excited about these four coming up after the way I’ve played the last two weeks.”

Colorado PGA Professional Championship
Sept. 14-16, 2015 (final) at Par-72 Meridian GC in Englewood

Top 10 Finishers (note: top eight qualify for 2016 PGA Professional National Championship) — 1. Doug Rohrbaugh 69-69-73–211; 2. Barry Milstead 73-67-73–213; 3. Ari Papadopoulos 72-72-72–216; 4. Rob Hunt 70-74-73–217; 5. (tie) Erik Billinger 73-74-71–218; Jeff Hanson 71-73-74–218; 7. (tie, with Fitzgerald and Wherry winning playoff) Caine Fitzgerald 69-75-75–219; Doug Wherry 75-73-71–219; Kyle Voska 74-76-69–219; Don Hurter 74-76-69–219; Mike Northern 74-74-71–219; Dustin Miller 75-73-71–219. For all the scores, CLICK HERE.

Wednesday evening, a couple of teams figured they’d be celebrating a victory and everyone involved thought they’d be sharing golf stories and a few laughs after the 45th edition of the Colorado Cup Matches at CommonGround Golf Course.

Little did anyone expect that, instead, the participants would be sitting in an electricity-deprived clubhouse looking out at a sight that seemed to be straight out of the Caddyshack scene where the bishop was playing the round of his life amid a violent storm.

As caddie Bill Murray told the bishop, “I’d keep playing. I don’t think the heavy stuff is going to come down for quite a while.”

Well, the heavy stuff did come down Wednesday, and with a vengeance. The result was a first for the annual Colorado Cup Matches held between many of the best golf professionals and amateurs in the state.

With heavy rain, gale-force winds, lightning, hail, flash flooding and a tornado warning quickly turning a nice day into a batten-down-the-hatches situation, the Cup Matches were limited to a four-ball session, with the singles results being nixed in mid-session because of unplayable conditions at CommonGround Golf Course.

“We were down on No. 12 and I was getting a little nervous because it was starting to get dark,” said Steve Irwin, captain of the CGA’s open-division amateur team. “I looked up and saw the cloud spinning, and that really got all of our attention. So we were glad they called it when they did. We were ready to get out of there.”

Play was suspended due to lightning shortly after 4:30 p.m., with most players in the midst of their singles session and more than a half-dozen singles matches having been completed. But the weather deteriorated considerably from there, knocking out power in the clubhouse and buffeting a large tent nearby.

After more than an hour of suspended play, the singles session was canceled altogether, with the final result of the matches reverting to the scores that stood after the morning four-ball.

That means that the 2015 Colorado Cup Matches will go down as the CGA amateurs prevailing 4-2 in the open division.

“It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to get the whole day done,” Irwin said. “However, a win’s a win. Two in a row now. But it would have been good to get those matches in. There were some great ones. I was right smack in the middle of a very tough one with Tray Shehee. I was 2 down through 12. I had him right where I wanted him, though,” Irwin added with a smile. (Shehee and Irwin are pictured at left.)

I the senior division, the teams tied 3-3, with the Colorado PGA pros retaining that Cup because they won it last year. The Section’s pros had already won five singles matches and lost one when played was called, but those results were negated. Six matches had yet to be completed.

The Colorado PGA still leads the overall series in the open division 30-13, with two ties, though the CGA has prevailed the last two years.

The all-time senior division series is tied 15-15, with three ties, but the pros have gone 8-1-1 in the last 10 meetings.

While the senior pros would like to have had the chance to post an outright victory on Wednesday, they understood and supported the decision to cancel the singles matches.

“I think that’s the way you have to do it,” said Ken Krieger, a veteran of about 40 Colorado Cup matches, including a few as an amateur. “It’s too bad, but it happens.”

Krieger, a two-time Section Player of the Year, and Robert Polk a three-time CGA Senior Player of the Year, were in the midst of a hard-fought match in which they were all square through 14 holes. (The two are pictured at left.)

“You want to see the thing completed,” said Polk, the CGA’s senior division captain. “You never know how matches can turn around. I know we had gotten beaten in some of them already. My match was even with Ken Krieger, who is such a gentleman and such a great guy. I don’t know how many times we’ve played each other, but quite a few. And it’s always fun. It’s a shame we didn’t get a chance to finish it.”

Another notable match apparently going down to the wire was between 2012 CGA Player of the Year Steven Kupcho and 2008 Colorado PGA Player of the Year Erik Billinger, the men’s golf coach at the University of Denver. Those two were all square through 13.

“The weather turned quick,” Billinger said. “It’s unfortunate. I think there were some good matches going on when they called it so I’m bummed out. We wish we were playing, but I think (under the circumstances) you’ve got to call it. It’s the right thing to do. But I know the pros sure wish we could beat these young guys.”

Billinger (left) is another Colorado PGA pro who has also competed in the Colorado Cup Matches as an amateur. In fact, three times from 1999-2001, he was an amateur teammate of Kevin Stadler, who won last year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour. Other longtime PGA Tour players who have competed in the Colorado Cup over the years include Steve Jones, Dow Finsterwald, Brandt Jobe, Bob Byman and Fred Wampler.

“It’s fun to see the Cup Matches through the years, having been on both sides,” Billinger said. “Playing guys you looked up to … Now I’m playing the young guys and I want to see how their games are — scope it out a little bit. Kupcho is hitting it 100 (yards) by me every stinking time.”

Krieger feels similarly.

“This is a great event,” he said. “I’ve played since 1973. I love these. They’re great for golf. We get to hang out with the amateurs, we get to hang out with the pros.

“My very first Colorado Cup Match was against Clayton Cole when he was an assistant at Cherry Hills. It was 1973 at Lakewood Country Club. Clayton Cole was was a stud (of a player at the time). He was really good. I got beat 4 and 3 and I was pretty proud of that. I took him all the way to the 15th hole.”

This time around at the Cup Matches, some of the biggest highlights of the day came from amateur Alex Kephart, who along with Lamar Carlile were the only returnees from the 2014 amateur Colorado Cup team. In his 1-up four-ball victory with Chris Thayer over Geoff Keffer (the Colorado PGA’s Player of the Year two of the last three seasons) and Blake Sharamitaro. Kephart won the fifth hole for his team by holing out a 9-iron from 160 yards, then pitched in from about 40 yards on No. 8, winning another hole. 

Unlike most years in the new millennium — and every year since 2008 — no women’s Colorado Cup competition was held in 2015 as the CPGA didn’t field a team. The amateurs representing the CWGA have won all 10 times women’s matches have been contested.
 

Colorado Cup Matches
At CommonGround GC in Aurora

OPEN DIVISION
FINAL SCORE: CGA Amateurs 4, Colorado PGA Professionals 2

Four-Ball: CGA 4, Colorado PGA 2
  Chris Thayer / Alex Kephart, CGA, def. Geoff Keffer / Blake Sharamitaro, 1 up. 
  Lamar Carlile / Jacob Allenback, CGA, def. Caine Fitzgerald / Peter Norwood, 3 and 2.
  Barry Milstead / Erik Billinger, CPGA, def. Jimmy Makloski / Cody Kent, 1 up.
  Steve Irwin / Steven Kupcho, CGA, def. Doug Wherry / Will Panella, 1 up. 
  Tray Shehee / Dan O’Shaughnessy, CPGA, def. Adam Griffith / Braden Baer, 2 and 1.
  Nick Nosewicz / Gus Lundquist, CGA, def. Vince Buelk / Jeff Carlson, 2 and 1. 
 

SENIOR DIVISION
FINAL SCORE: Colorado PGA Professionals 3, CGA Amateurs 3

Four-Ball: Colorado PGA 3, CGA 3
  Gregg Jones / Ken Krieger, CPGA, def. Kelly Crone / Larry Netherton, 7 and 6.      
  Frank Wilkinson / Bruce Hogg, CGA, def. Perry Holmes / Jeff Hanson, 5 and 4.
  Mike Northern / Paul Lobato, CPGA, def. Steve Bell / Pat Bowe, 6 and 5.
  Kent Moore / Robert Polk, CGA, def. Rick Ellefson / Zane Zwemke, 3 and 2. 
  Russell Aragon / Vance Pollock, CPGA, def. Harry Johnson / Robert West, 2 and 1.
  Art Cudworth / Bob Chandler, CGA, def. Rick Cole / Tom Carricato, 6 and 5.

Let’s take a break.

Very few NCAA sports have full-blown split seasons, with official competitions in each. But men’s and women’s golf fit into that category.

And, as of last week, all the NCAA Division I golf programs in Colorado have reached intermission, with Act II not officially beginning until February.

That makes this a good time to look at some of the local highlights for the just-completed fall portion of the schedule. And an eventful fall it was. To wit:

— Although we’ll primarily focus here on the nine Division I teams in Colorado, one of the most notable accomplishments came at NCAA Division II Colorado State University-Pueblo. There, Leina Kim (pictured above) leads the nation’s Division II ranks in scoring average, at 71.2.

Winning large-scale college golf tournaments is no easy matter, but Kim won four individual titles in five events in the fall, finishing third the one time she didn’t post a victory. The junior from the west Pacific island of Saipan was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Week four times in five weeks.

“I was only hoping to do my best this season and everything just fell into place,” Kim recently told Guampdn.com. “… I don’t usually have a scoring average in mind but I always try to shoot even or under par. If I struggle, I try to ignore what’s behind me and focus on all the shots that are ahead of me.”

— University of Colorado senior David Oraee (left), winner of the 2014 CGA Stroke Play title, notched the first individual victory of his college career at CU’s Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational in late September. In a weather-shortened event at Colorado National Golf Club, Oraee posted the best 36-hole total in CU program history (64-67 for a 13-under-par 131) to win by five strokes.

— Erik Billinger took over the University of Denver men’s team in June, and in his first semester as a head coach, the Pioneers performed both very well and consistently. In tournament fields varying in size from 11 to 17 teams, DU posted two second-place finishes and two thirds in four fall events.

— Two Colorado-based Division I programs recorded team victories in the fall — both at tournaments they hosted. The CU men won the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational and the Colorado State men claimed the title at the Ram Masters Invitational, earning their first team victory in a multi-school event since April 2011.

— Perhaps the most remarkable feat of the fall locally happened at that Ram Masters Invitational at Fort Collins Country Club. In the second round, three players made holes-in-one — all at the same hole (the 195-yard ninth), and all within less than an hour of one another. Drawing aces were Drew McCullough of Wyoming, Shane Fontenot of McNeese State and Pierre Tillement of George Washington

— DU’s Petter Mikalsen had arguably the best fall of any male Division I player at a Colorado school. In four tournaments, the sophomore from Norway recorded two runner-up individual finishes, along with fifth- and 16th-place showings.

— Former CWGA Junior Match Play champion Lindsay McGetrick has developed into very good player at North Carolina State. In the Wolfpack’s final two tournaments of the fall, McGetrick finished ninth and eighth individually. She’s ranked 73rd among the nation’s female college players by Golfweek.

— Jeremy and Yannik Paul, sophomore twins playing for CU, are both included in the top 250 in the nation’s men’s college ranks by Golfweek, with Jeremy 102nd and Yannik 235th.

— In her freshman year of NCAA Division I college golf, Hannah Wood of Centennial not only played every round for the University of Oklahoma, but she posted two top-20 finishes, including a 16th place in her first college tournament ever. She’s No. 183 in Golfweek’s women’s college rankings.

In addition to all of the above, here are a few tidbits from the fall season for Colorado-based Division I teams:

Top-3 Team Finishes in the Fall — DU men 4; CU men 2; Colorado State men 2; CU women 2; DU women 1.

Top-5 Individual Finishes in the Fall — Petter Mikalsen, DU, 3; David Oraee, CU, 1; Jeremy Paul, CU, 1; Yannik Paul, CU, 1; Cameron Harrell, CSU, 1; Chris Korte, DU, 1; Alexis Keating, CU, 1; Mariell Bruun, DU, 1.

National Team Rankings for Colorado-Based Division I Schools
Men
39. (Golfstat and Golfweek) Colorado
76. (Golfweek) Denver (79th Golfstat)
79. (Golfweek) Colorado State (80th Golfstat)
218. (Golfweek) Air Force Academy (231st Golfstat)
224. (Golfstat) Northern Colorado (237th Golfweek)

Women
35. (Golfstat) Colorado (48th Golfweek)
49. (Golfstat) Denver (50th Golfweek)
95. (Golfstat) Colorado State (97th Golfweek)
183. (Golfstat) Northern Colorado (186th Golfweek)

Top 250 National Individual Rankings for Coloradans and Colorado-Based Players)
Men
51. (Golfstat) Petter Mikalsen, sophomore, DU (106th Golfweek)
102. (Golfweek) Jeremy Paul, sophomore, CU (105th Golfstat)
125. (Golfweek) Wyndham Clark of Lone Tree, sophomore, Oklahoma State
158. (Golfweek) David Oraee, senior, CU (249th Golfstat)
200. (Golfstat) Dominic Kieffer, junior, CSU
222. (Golfstat) Cameron Harrell, senior, CSU
235. (Golfweek) Yannik Paul, sophomore, CU

Women
73. (Golfweek) Former Coloradan Lindsay McGetrick, senior, North Carolina State (81st Golfstat)
99. (Golfweek) Esther Lee, sophomore, CU, (107th Golfstat)
154. (Golfweek) Alexis Keating, junior, CU (162nd Golfstat)
183. (Golfweek) Centennial resident Hannah Wood, freshman, Oklahoma
201 (Golfweek) Jessica Carty, sophomore, DU (239th Golfstat)
212. (Golfweek) Isabel Southard, junior, DU (248th Golfstat)
236. (Golfweek) Elyse Smidinger, junior, DU
240. (Golfweek and Golfstat) Brittany Fan, freshman, CU

For the second time in two years, a longtime University of Denver head golf coach has departed and been replaced by a highly regarded assistant coach with strong DU ties.

Sixteen months after Sammie Chergo stepped down after 15 years as DU women’s head coach and was replaced by her former longtime assistant, Lindsay Kuhle, Eric Hoos exited as DU men’s head coach after 15 seasons and was succeeded by former Pioneer women’s associate head coach Erik Billinger.

A DU press release said Hoos “resigned from the position to pursue other professional opportunities.”

Hoos (pictured above) led the DU men to three league titles during his coaching tenure, including this year’s Summit League championship. The Pioneers also won the season-opening Ram Masters Invitational in September. Since taking the DU job in 1999 after being an assistant at the University of Colorado, Hoos guided the Pioneers to nine team victories, 17 individual wins and nine NCAA regional appearances.

Reached Monday evening, Hoos didn’t want to elaborate much on the situation, but did say, “It was a fun run. Not many coaches get to spend 15 years at one place. I wish Erik the best.”

Hoos is a graduate of Fairview High School and the University of Arkansas. His professional playing career was highlighted by a victory on what is now the Web.com Tour. In 2011 and ’13, Hoos was the low amateur at the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open.

“The University of Denver community thanks Eric for his years of dedication and the leadership, passion and energy he provided to the golf program,” Peg Bradley-Doppes, vice chancellor of athletics and recreation, said in the press release. “We wish him much success with his future endeavors.”

Billinger (left) played golf at DU after transferring from CU, winning a Sun Belt League individual title as a Pioneer in 2001 and qualifying for two NCAA regionals.

He said he was “very surprised” at the recent turn of events. Billinger indicated he heard about Hoos’ resignation on Friday morning and was offered the job on Friday afternoon.

“I have a little mixed emotions,” Billinger said Monday in a phone interview. “I’m sad Hoos is leaving, but I’m grateful for the opportunity. I’m glad the university felt highly enough of me to be a leader. Both my wife (Megan) and I graduated from DU, so we’re excited.

“But there’s lots and lots going on today. It’s a little crazy.”

After helping out with the DU men’s and women’s programs for two years following his graduation in 2002, Billinger worked as a PGA instructor for 10 years at Highlands Ranch Golf Club before becoming a DU women’s assistant coach in 2012. (Highlands Ranch Golf Club was gifted to DU in 2011.) This year, the DU women’s team, under Kuhle and Billinger, won its 11th consecutive league title. And senior Tonje Daffinrud finished 10th individually in the NCAA Championship Finals.

Though Billinger helped coach the DU women in the last two seasons, he’s quite familiar with the men’s team. The women’s and men’s squads traveled together to this year’s Summit League tournaments, and they both practice at Highlands Ranch Golf Club and at an indoor practice facility at the Ritchie Center.

Asked about his coaching approach, Billinger said he was going to “try to make the environment positive and enthusiastic.”

Billinger was the Colorado PGA’s Player of the Year in 2008 and Teacher of the Year in 2010 and ’12.
 

He’s beaten senior players, junior players, mid-amateurs and everything in between.

In short, it’s been a rip-roaring good year for Doug Rohrbaugh, the head professional at Ironbridge Golf Club.

Already the winner of the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open and the Colorado Senior PGA Professional Championship, co-champion of the U.S. Senior Open qualifier in Colorado, and a third-place finisher in the HealthOne Colorado Open, Rohrbaugh added the Colorado PGA Professional Championship on Wednesday.

As Barry Milstead of Valley Country Club, president of the Colorado PGA, noted, “I’ve signed a lot of checks for you this year.”

And at 51, Rohrbaugh became one of the oldest winners — and perhaps the oldest — of the Colorado PGA’s top tournament. Fred Wampler, for one, also won the title after turning 50, doing so in 1974.

“The only thing I keep saying is, ‘Why did it take me 50 years to figure this out?'” said Rohrbaugh (pictured above and below). “There’s definitely something to be said for older and wiser, but who knows?”

After taking a four-stroke lead into the final round, the Carbondale resident shot a second consecutive 1-under-par 71 and won by five shots at the Fazio Course at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott. He didn’t lose the lead all day and finished at 6-under-par 210. The victory — Rohrbaugh’s first in the event after competing in it for two decades — was worth $7,500.

Rob Hunt of The Links Golf Course, winner of the Colorado PGA Professional Championship in both 2009 and ’11, tied for second at 215 Wednesday after a final-round 69. Micah Rudosky of Conquistador (72 Wednesday) and Jerry Smith of Three Crowns Golf Club in Casper, Wyo. (70) also shared second place. Rudosky won the title in 2001.

“Without Doug, it was a close race,” Hunt said with a laugh.

The top eight finishers, plus PGA Championship qualifier Caine Fitzgerald, earned spots in the 2014 PGA Professional National Championship, which will be played June 22-25 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Besides the aforementioned, advancing were Ari Papadopoulos of Red Sky, Milstead, University of Denver women’s assistant coach Erik Billinger, and Matt Schalk of Colorado National.

Schalk landed the final national berth when he prevailed over John Ogden of Cherry Hills on the third hole of a sudden death playoff.

But the main story Wednesday was Rohrbaugh and the continuation of his sensational summer.

“It’s incredible,” Hunt said. “I don’t know what the records would show, but I don’t know if (what he’s done in all those tournaments) has ever happened. It certainly hasn’t happened very often.”

Even Rohrbaugh himself is a little dumbfounded at the success he’s enjoyed in 2013.

“Oh my gosh, what can you say, other than ‘wow’,” he said. “I’m blown away. I’m obviously thrilled. You dream about every tournament you play in you want to win, but God, I’ve never had a year remotely like this.”

On Wednesday, while Rohrbaugh never relinquished the lead, Rudosky (pictured at left) moved within two strokes when Rohrbaugh bogeyed No. 8. And he was still within three after Rohrbaugh made his second bogey, at No. 14.

But the par-5 15th proved pivotal. There, Rohrbaugh pushed his tee shot and it ended up in a bush. Though he had to take an unplayable lie penalty, he was able to drop in a spot that gave him a chance to advance his ball a considerable distance.

After Rudosky elected to lay up from the fairway — which surprised Rohrbaugh — the latter took a 3-wood from the rough, 280 yards from the pin, and faded his ball around some tree limbs. It hit in front of the green and rolled to within 30 feet of the cup. Despite taking the unplayable, Rohrbaugh two-putted for par. Rudosky, meanwhile, missed his 7-foot birdie attempt, meaning there was no blood on the hole.

“I couldn’t have drawn it up any better,” Rohrbaugh said. “That was the shot of the day for me. If I had made bogey and he made birdie (it’s down to a one-stroke difference). My whole attitude changed the rest of the way. Not that I wasn’t feeling confident before that, but I had a lot more.”

Rohrbaugh played the last three holes in 1 under par, not giving his closest competitors any openings.

And now, like last year, Rohrbaugh has his sights set on his big goal for the fall — trying to qualify for the Champions Tour. Time will tell how he fares, but the roll he’s on has him thinking big.

“I feel confident. This just keeps building the confidence,” he said.

Here are the top 10 finishers from the Colorado PGA Professional Championship: 1. Doug Rohrbaugh 68-71-71–210; 2. (tie) Rob Hunt 72-74-69–215; Jerry Smith 74-71-70–215; Micah Rudosky 70-73-72–215; 5. Ari Papadopoulos 71-75-70–216; 6. (tie) Barry Milstead 75-73-69–217; Erik Billinger 74-71-72–217; 8. (tie) Matt Schalk 73-77-69–219; John Ogden 78-68-73–219; 10. (tie) Eric Bradley 73-80-67–220; Mike Northern 77-70-73–220.

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.

The overwhelming majority of college golf tournaments played in Colorado take place in September, for an obvious reason: It’s the best month in the state, weather-wise, during the college golf season.

And this year, more than ever, September will be prime time for college golf in Colorado. In the Division I ranks alone, five multi-team invitational tournaments will be played this month in the Centennial State — three on the men’s side and two on the women’s. Four of the events have been held in previous seasons, but the Colorado State men’s Ram Masters Invitational will be contested for the first time.

And the good news for local golf fans is that in many of the Colorado-based tournaments, several of the state’s teams compete against one another.

Here’s the lineup of Division I invitationals being held in Colorado this month:

— Sept. 9-10: Men’s Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational hosted by Air Force at Eisenhower Golf Club at the Air Force Academy. Div. I teams from Colorado participating: Air Force, CSU, CU, UNC.

— Sept. 10-11: Women’s Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic hosted by Colorado State at Ptarmigan Country Club in Fort Collins. Div. I teams from Colorado participating: CSU, CU, UNC.

— Sept. 17-18: Men’s Ram Masters Invitational hosted by Colorado State at Fort Collins Country Club. Div. I teams from Colorado participating: Air Force, CSU, DU, UNC.

— Sept. 24-25: Men’s Mark Simpson Invitational hosted by the University of Colorado at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie. Div. I teams from Colorado participating: Air Force, CSU, CU, DU, UNC.

— Sept. 24-26: Women’s Golfweek Conference Challenge hosted by the University of Denver at Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott. Div. I team from Colorado participating: DU.

Colorado College Golf Chip Shots: The Falcon Invitational at Eisenhower Golf Club Sunday and Monday (Sept. 9-10) will mark the first event in his new job for CSU men’s head coach Christian Newton. Newton was hired after longtime CSU head coach Jamie Bermel took the same position at the University of Kansas. … The CU women, who in the spring went to the NCAA Finals for the first time in program history, are ranked 16th in the nation in the preseason coaches’ poll. … Also ranked nationally are the Colorado School of Mines men, who are 20th in the Div. II coaches’ poll after placing 11th in the Div. II national finals last season. … Both the University of Denver men and women will be in a new conference this season, moving from the Sun Belt to the Western Athletic. The Pioneer women won the last nine Sun Belt Conference championships. … Former DU golfer Erik Billinger is the new assistant golf coach for the women’s team at his alma mater. Billinger was an assistant for the university’s golf programs from 2002 to 2004. Billinger replaces Lindsay Hulwick, who became an assistant coach at the University of Georgia. … UNC sophomore Steven Kupcho is coming off a stellar summer in which he won the CGA Stroke Play Championship, was low amateur at the HealthOne Colorado Open and placed second in the CGA Public Links. … In addition to the Mark Simpson Invitational, the CU men will host a 36-hole one-day tournament at Colorado National this season — the Colorado Spring Invitational on April 22. UNC will be among the teams competing. … The DU men recently announced the addition of two freshmen to their roster: Arti Edelman of Switzerland and Trey Pflug of Portland, Ore.