Doug Rohrbaugh has made improbable accomplishments seem almost commonplace over the last couple of years.

And the head professional at Ironbridge Golf Club in Glenwood Springs did it again on Wednesday at the Colorado PGA Professional Championship.

This time around, these were the two new notches on Rohrbaugh’s belt:

— The Carbondale resident became the first player in the 21st century to win two consecutive CPGA Professional Championships. Ken Krieger was the last to manage the feat, winning three in a row from 1996 through ’98.

— At age 52, Rohrbaugh is believed to be the oldest winner of the Colorado PGA Section’s championship. In fact, he was thought to be the oldest last year when he won.

“I was so thrilled last year,” he said. “Now to do it again — man! It feels good, boy. It really feels good.”

Rohrbaugh made it all look relatively easy on Wednesday, cruising to a five-stroke victory at Todd Creek Golf Club in Thornton. He shot a 3-under-par 69 in the final round, giving him a 12-under 204 total. The victory was worth $8,000 out of the $55,000 purse.

Matt Schalk (pictured above in green congratulating Rohrbaugh) finished runner-up for the second time in three years. This time, the director of golf at Colorado National Golf Club and the Fox Hill Club closed with a 72 for a 209 total. Mike Zaremba of Desert Hawk, winner of the 1987 and ’99 championships, ended with a 68 to place third at 211.

Those three, along with the next five on the leaderboard, qualified for the 2015 PGA Professional National Championship, scheduled for June 28-July 1 in Philadelphia. Joining Rohrbaugh, Schalk and Zaremba in earning those berths were Geoff Keffer of Murphy Creek (212), Rob Hunt of The Links (213), Kyle Voska of The Links (214), three-time HealthOne Colorado Open champion Bill Loeffler of The Links (214) and Doug Wherry of Jake’s Academy (214).

This week’s performance was an extension of the stellar play demonstrated by Rohrbaugh (left) since 2012. In that two-plus year period, he’s won the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open, the Colorado PGA Professional Championship and the Colorado Senior PGA Professional Championship (all in 2013), qualified for the U.S. Senior Open in both 2012 and ’13, and then won the Section title again on Wednesday.

“It’s amazing what the confidence level has been after the (2013) Colorado Senior Open. That just changed everything,” he said.

At Todd Creek, while the battle for the national tournament spots went on throughout the day, it quickly became a two-man competition for the championship between Rohrbaugh and Schalk.

Twice — after a Schalk birdie on the first hole and after a two-shot swing on No. 8 where Schalk birdied and Rohrbaugh made his only bogey — Schalk (left) crept within a stroke. But that was as close as it got.

“I was playing well, but I just couldn’t get any putts to fall,” said Schalk, who has posted top-eight finishes in this event for three straight years. “I had a ton of putts on the edge. And he played the same as he did the last two days — real consistent. He wasn’t going to make any mistakes. You definitely had to go win this tournament; he wasn’t going to give it to you.”

The turning point came on the stretch from holes 9 through 12. After seeing his lead dwindle to one, Rohrbaugh picked up a shot on each one of those four holes to increase his lead to five and basically put the tournament on ice. Schalk bogeyed 9, 10 and 11, then Rohrbaugh knocked in a 6-foot birdie on 12. On No. 13, Schalk made a 5-foot birdie, but only after Rohrbaugh drained a 25-footer for birdie.

“That stretch was huge,” Rohrbaugh said. “It just relaxed me a lot from that point. I didn’t have to take any chances or go pin-seeking.”

The overall key, Rohrbaugh (below) said, was a putter he only put into play during a practice round on Sunday. He had used it for the second half of last season, but it fell out of favor this year — until this week.

“This one I can definitely pin on one club — and it was the putter,” he said. “On Sunday I brought it with me for a practice round. Oh my, was that a good decision. The first day I had 24 putts. Yesterday had to be similar. And today I still putted good.

“I felt like I could make everything I looked at all week. That’s a good feeling. I putted so good the first day and it carried over every day. The 3-footer I missed on 8 today was my only missed putt inside 10 feet for the week.”

Though Schalk obviously was looking to win, he was happy with his performance under the circumstances.

“This is my first stroke-play tournament in probably 10 months, so I was a little bit uncomfortable at times,” he said. “But I was happy with how I played. My goal was to get to 12 under — that was the ultimate number — but I just didn’t get there.

“Doug is a good player. He manages the courses very well. He’s not overly long, but he hits it in the right places and he has a great short game.”

Rohrbaugh plans again this year to go through the Champions Tour qualifying process. He made it to the final stage last year, but fell short of earning any status.

Colorado PGA Professional Championship
Sept. 8-10, 2014 (final) at Par-72 Todd Creek GC in Thornton

Top 10 Finishers — 1. Doug Rohrbaugh 67-68-69–204; 2. Matt Schalk 68-69-72–209; 3. Mike Zaremba 72-71-68–211; 4. Geoff Keffer 70-71-71–212; 5. Rob Hunt 66-78-69–213; 6. (tie) Kyle Voska 72-73-69–214; Bill Loeffler 70-70-74–214; Doug Wherry 69-70-75–214; 9. Bobby Quaratino 76-69-71–216; 10. (tie) Travis Morton 71-77-70–218; Ari Papadopoulos 67-78-73–218. For complete results, CLICK HERE.

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.

“All too familiar,” Caine Fitzgerald said to a bystander Wednesday after completing the first playoff hole in the Colorado PGA Professional Championship at Cherry Creek Country Club.

Indeed, Fitzgerald had to be experiencing a little deja vu. Two years ago at Meridian Golf Club, he likewise was in a playoff in the same tournament. And like this year, that one had the participants play the 18th hole over and over until a winner was decided. Also, as with 2010, sudden death lasted longer than one hole.

But, fortunately for Fitzgerald, that’s where the similarities between 2010 and 2012 ended. Wednesday’s playoff went two holes, not three. And, most importantly, Fitzgerald won this time, unlike in 2010 when Chris Johnson prevailed.

After being runner-up in this event each of the last two years, the assistant professional at Murphy Creek claimed his first Colorado PGA Professional Championship title, defeating Matt Schalk on the second hole of sudden death when Schalk missed a 2-foot par putt. Ironically, Schalk had forced the playoff on the same hole about a half-hour earlier by making a 20-foot birdie putt, his third birdie in the last four holes of regulation.

“This feels good,” said Fitzgerald, a 38-year-old left-hander. “A lot of friends have won the tournament, so I’m really proud to get one for myself. I’ve been trying hard for a few years.

“For us (club professionals), this is our biggest event. I won the Iowa Open in 1997, but I was 23 years old and too young to know better basically. This is the first really big thing I’ve won since then, so I’m really proud of it.”

In a final round that was played for the most part in miserable conditions — drenching rain, casual water commonplace, standing water in bunkers, etc. — Fitzgerald closed with a 2-over-par 74, which left him at 4-under 212 along with Schalk, the general manager and director of golf at Colorado National Golf Club and The Fox Hill Club. Schalk (pictured at left) tied Doug Rohrbaugh of Ironbridge Golf Club for the day’s low round with a 72.

But after making three birdies in the last four holes to get into a playoff, Schalk let his shot at the title get away with the three-putt on the second playoff hole.

“You don’t want to miss a short putt like that, but I didn’t really feel like I did anything wrong,” said Schalk, who hit his ball into the nearby lake after the crucial 2-foot miss. “I must have decelerated and pulled it a little bit. It happens. It’s disappointing, but that’s the way it goes.”

The win was worth $7,500 to Fitzgerald, while Schalk settled for $5,000.

Rohrbaugh tied 36-hole co-leader Micah Rudosky of Conquistador for third place, three strokes back of Fitzgerald and Schalk. Rudosky closed with a 77. Defending champion Rob Hunt of The Links claimed fifth place at 217 after a final-round 76.

Those five — along with sixth-place finishers John Ogden of Cherry Hills, Bill Loeffler of Highlands Ranch and Mike Northern of Valley Hi — qualified for the PGA Professional National Championship that will be held June 23-26 in Sunriver, Ore.

While the weather cleared enough Wednesday afternoon for the leaders to play the last four or five holes of regulation without rain, it was so bad earlier in the day that there were understandably a lot of unhappy campers out on the course.

Even though Schalk tied for the day’s best round, he was among them.

“We shouldn’t have been on this golf course today,” he said. “Guys are squeegeeing greens, but they’re squeegeeing for one group but not the next group. You get to the point you’re changing the integrity of the golf course.”

With casual water — or outright puddles — the norm rather than the exception, lift, clean and place rules were in effect. But beyond the golf course conditions, it was a constant battle for players to keep their equipment dry.

“It was difficult out there,” Fitzgerald said. “It was challenging for sure. All day my mentality was, ‘OK, let’s make 18 pars.’ I just wanted to make it as stress-free as possible. I felt like I was pretty dialed in with my approach — how I wanted to handle it — but making sure I had a good grip on every shot, and executing what I wanted to do, was the key.”

And Fitzgerald was remarkably consistent given the conditions. He made a double bogey on No. 2, but from then on he carded one birdie, one bogey and 14 pars.

Rudosky, not Schalk, was Fitzgerald’s main competition most of the final day. In fact, the 2001 Section champion led the tournament by a stroke with nine holes left. But a 41 on the back side Wednesday derailed Rudosky’s chances.

Then Schalk, the Section championship runner-up in 2005, kicked it into high gear on the final four holes, making birdie putts of 8, 25 and 20 feet and Nos. 15, 16 and 18. And he left an 8-footer on No. 17 short.

Schalk almost won the tournament outright in regulation. Playing a group ahead of Fitzgerald, he made his closing birdie. Then Fitzgerald (pictured hitting at left with Rudosky watching) missed the green on 18 and had to drain an 8-foot par putt to keep his hopes alive.

In the playoff, Fitzgerald and Schalk made routine pars on the first playoff hole, and looked like they’d do the same on the second. After Schalk stroked his 25-foot birdie attempt 2 feet past the cup, Fitzgerald two-putted from 20 feet for par. Schalk’s par try then hit the left lip and trickled by the hole.

“I’ve been in contention quite a few times and just didn’t get it done,” Fitzgerald said regarding this tournament. “Somebody always played a little bit better. Honestly, I thought today that was going to be Matty (Schalk) the way he finished. I never dreamed he would have missed that putt. I felt awful for him.”

Fitzgerald estimates he’s finished in the top seven of the Colorado PGA Professional Championship six times — including those second-place showings in both 2010 and 2011 — but he finally claimed the big prize on Wednesday.

“I’m the bridesmaid of this (PGA) Section,” the resident of Parker said. “I’ve never won our player of the year. I’ve been the runner-up player of the year the last three years to three different people, and I’m working on it again this year.”

For scores, CLICK HERE.