There hasn’t been much for Gibby Gilbert III to celebrate on the golf course since playing a full PGA Tour Champions season in 2019.
Last weekend provided a welcomed exception.
Competing in the DICK’s Sporting Goods Open in Endicott, New York, the 55-year-old Chattanoogan finished in a tie for 26th and pocketed $16,682. His 4-under-par score after the three rounds put him ahead of the recognized likes of Jose Maria Olazabal, Colin Montgomerie and John Daly.
“All those guys are great guys,” Gilbert said this week. “I didn’t play on the PGA Tour, so I only knew a few of them from college and stuff, but they’ve all been great and fantastic. I haven’t had a bad experience with anybody out there.”
The son of Gibby Gilbert II, who won three PGA Tour and six Senior Tour events and is best known for his runner-up finish at the 1980 Masters, competed on the NIKE Tour and Web.com Tour but didn’t succeed enough financially to sustain a growing family. That was accomplished through working at the Valleybrook and Eagle Bluff golf clubs, but Gilbert earned a late-stage opportunity by sinking a 70-foot birdie putt in November 2018 to win a PGA Tour Champions qualifying event at TPC Tampa Bay.