Gibby Gilbert III has washed carts, worked the cash register, taken reservations, served diners, cut some grass and watered greens at Valleybrook Golf Club.
That’s all part of his job as owner/manager/pro/do-it-all.
But he’ll need somebody to cover for him the rest of this week because he’ll be working as a touring golf professional.
Gilbert and former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golfer Bryce Ledford shot 4-under-par 68s at Bear Trace at Harrison Bay to earn spots in the Chattanooga Classic, which begins Thursday at Black Creek Club.
“I feel sorry for my dad because I was supposed to work all day Tuesday and Friday,” said Gilbert, who has played dozens of Nationwide and PGA Tour events in his career. “Now I need to find somebody to work for me.”
He found his game somewhere between Hixson and Harrison on Monday morning.
Gilbert made five birdies and one bogey Monday despite not having played 18 holes since early July and only about 25 rounds since he played in the 2008 Chattanooga Classic.
“I thought, ‘What the heck? I’ll give it a try,'” Gilbert said. “I just played and didn’t think a whole lot out there.
“I’m surprised I didn’t choke down the stretch.”
Tommy Biershenk of Boiling Springs, S.C., led the seven qualifiers from Bear Trace with a 66. He last played the Classic in 2006.
“I was leading after a couple days but ended up 21st or something,” the 38-year-old journeyman recalled. “I’ve had a good year playing in the minor leagues and I’m ready to take it to another level.”
Matt Savage was medalist with a 6-under 65 in the Monday qualifier at Cleveland Country Club, where none of the nine Chattanooga-area golfers participating qualified for the Classic. Cleveland CC assistant pro Josh Coley and former Hixson golfer Paul Apyan Jr. missed a five-for-two playoff by two shots.
Ledford knows what it’s like to come close in Monday qualifiers. The McCallie School graduate from Ooltewah missed by two strokes or less five times this season, and that doesn’t include last year when he shot a 68 at Bear Trace and was bumped from a playoff by somebody in the last group who shot 66.
His 68 Monday advanced him back into the Classic, a tournament he has played in the past with a sponsor’s exemption and by qualifying.
“I’ll be sleeping in my own bed,” Ledford said. “I’m home to see my girlfriend, so it doesn’t really feel like a tournament because I’m not sitting in a hotel room killing time. I’ve got family and friends here, but it’s a little added pressure playing in your home crowd. But it’s worth it.
“Plus, it’s less expensive too.”
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter.com/UchSports.