Rob Labritz, twice the low PGA professional at the PGA Championship, won medalist honors at PGA Tour Champions Qualifying Tournament Friday and is among five golfers who earned 2022 tour cards.
Labritz, the director of golf at the GlenArbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills, New York, was low pro at the 2010 and 2019 PGA Championships. He won Q school by three shots. He finished 17 under after posting scores of 65-71-67-64 at TPC Tampa Bay. Labritz has played in the PGA Championship eight times but beyond that, he has appeared in just three PGA Tour events in his career.
“I’ve been envisioning this happening. And it did, which is crazy,” Labritz said. “It shows the power of the mind. I’m beyond the moon. I’m almost speechless. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this, to know that my golf game held up.”
David Branshaw and Thongchai Jaidee finished tied for second at 14 under. Jaidee’s third-round 63 was the best score of the week. Roger Rowland finished solo fourth at nine under, while Tom Gillis was solo fifth at eight under.
The week started with 79 golfers vying for fully exempt status into open, full-field events on the 2022 PGA Tour Champions schedule. The next 25 finishers Friday are now eligible to compete in open qualifiers in Champions in 2022. Notable names among that group include: Guy Boros (T-6), Skip Kendall and Mario Tiziani (T-10), Matt Gogel and Paul Stankowski (T-14), Ken Duke and Charlie Wi (T-17) and Thomas Levet (T-19).
Tiziani is Steve Stricker’s brother-in-law and has caddied for Stricker on a few occasions.
Interesting names who came up short: Harrison Frazer (T-32), Omar Uresti (T-32), Olin Browne (T-44), Jonathan Kaye (T-47), Neil Lancaster (T-51) Frank Lickliter II (T-61).
Among those who withdrew during the final day included Carlos Franco, Jose Coceres and 70-year-old Dick Mast, who started on the PGA Tour Champions in 2001; he began his PGA Tour career in 1974.