NAPLES, FLORIDA | As giant tour players gingerly walked around and over her on their path to the scoring area, 1-year-old Logan Labritz, a random fistful of pine needles in her tiny hand, wobbled across the grass behind Tiburon Golf Club late Sunday afternoon, taking a few early steps, the way a newborn colt might.
Soon, she’ll be off and running. Her dad already is.
Rob Labritz is one of those goosebump, golf feel-good stories, a man who chose to dream big and chase a distant rainbow only to run headlong into it. A club professional since he was 19, and the director of golf at GlenArbor Golf Club (Bedford Hills, New York) since 2001, Labritz advanced through two stages of qualifying to earn playing privileges on the 2022 PGA Tour Champions. The circuit doles out only five cards to qualifiers a year, and Labritz, who turned 50 in May, was medalist, firing 17-under 267 at TPC Tampa Bay.
Know this: A happier rookie you will not find.
Labritz struck the ball nicely and finished below par (1-under 215) in his PGA Tour Champions debut at the Chubb Classic, but could not coax enough putts to fall to ever climb into contention. (For the Champions, it proved to be another weekend at Bernie’s, with Bernhard Langer collecting senior victory No. 43.) Labritz tied for 26th, but with his wife and two young daughters awaiting off the 18th green, he finished with a big smile. “Rob is always smiling,” said Kerry Labritz, Rob’s wife of almost 10 years.
“Obviously, I have some people that I have to beat – some of the greatest players in the world are out here – so I have some work to do. But I’m not scared to do it. I’m not scared to work my tail off and go low.” – Rob Labritz
Labritz knows that in the months ahead, he will have the chance to compete in 25 more Champions tourneys just like the Chubb. Lo and behold, somebody found their way into the candy aisle.
“The process now is just on getting better and better, improving, and my focus is on winning senior majors,” Labritz said. That statement is a bold one but gives one a sense of this player’s inner confidence. “I have the game to win senior majors, and I can do that. Obviously, I have some people that I have to beat – some of the greatest players in the world are out here – so I have some work to do. But I’m not scared to do it. I’m not scared to work my tail off and go low.”
There is some bouncy, contagious energy built into Labritz, who has been thinking about playing over-50 golf against the game’s legends since he was in his mid-30s. He has been a terrific player in the Metropolitan PGA Section, a three-time New York State Open champion who has earned his way into eight PGA Championships, twice finishing as low club professional.
This, however, is a different assignment than taking on the world’s young bombers on major tracks that stretch to 7,500 yards and beyond. On the slightly shorter tests of PGA Tour Champions, Labritz is excited about the possibilities. He is plenty long enough, has a strong short game, and considers his putting to be a trusted asset.
Labritz practices what he has preached to so many students over the years – he taught roughly 1,000 lessons in 2021 alone – and keeps his emotions level as he plays. Birdies, bogeys, doubles … he makes sure not to get too amped up, or too tough on himself. Neither extreme does him much good.
“He’s so good mentally. He’s going to be great out there, I think,” said Todd Luigi, a former PGA apprentice-turned-New-York-City-policeman (retired) who is sharing this journey with Labritz, working as his caddie. Luigi knew that Labritz was a strong player in the New York area and met him 12 years ago. Before long, both men would dream ahead to Labritz one day venturing out as a full-time touring professional, and doing so with Luigi, whom Labritz calls his “rock,” by his side. Well, they’ve arrived.
“I’m very proud,” Luigi said. “Believe me, you’re going to see his name on the leaderboard – a lot.”
Amid the starry Bernhard Langers and Ernie Elses and Jim Furyks of the over-50 golf set, there isn’t much room left for lesser-named dreamers. To its credit, PGA Tour Champions always has given us some soul-enriching Walter Mitty types, unknowns who loaded a rock in the slingshot and took aim at the game’s big guns. Walt Zembriski. Larry Laoretti. Jim Albus. Tom Wargo. Allen Doyle. All had their shining moments.
“Every one of these (new) guys, I tell them, you’ve done the hard part, which is getting out here,” said Scott Parel, a former computer programmer and standout Georgia amateur who now owns three victories on the Champions Tour. “To win the Q-School and shoot the scores he shot, he’s got the game.”
In Naples last week, Labritz had a robust gallery, with about 30 GlenArbor members and 30 more friends cheering and groaning with every birdie and each close miss. Labritz seems to really enjoy the bigger stage. The bustling crowds fuel him, not faze him.
“He’s going to be embraced,” said Nick Liapunov, not only one of Labritz’s five sponsors, but also his manager. “People are really going to love Rob’s story.”
For Labritz, it’s one tournament down, one full thrill ride to go. After all the years of hard work – not only does Labritz practice hard, but he is a gym rat in the best shape of his life at 50 – Labritz has an opportunity to inspire. For years, his club job and his members came first. Now, it’s time for his game to be in the forefront.
Kerry Labritz believes her husband’s year ahead might be something quite special. Why is that?
“Just his determination,” she said, “and he’s just so happy. He loves the game of golf and he loves people. And he’s always smiling. That helps.”