In most sports, athletes peak in their twenties and thirties and often play a year or two longer than they should have. Not necessarily so in golf. And in some cases, like that of Gibby Gilbert, things just improve with age. For twenty-four years on the PGA Tour, beginning in 1967, Gilbert worked hard with only intermittent successes. His best season on the tour was in 1980, the only year he had earnings topping $100,000. But like a fine wine, Gilbert just got better and better, and when he hit the Senior Tour in 1991, his career skyrocketed. In just his first year on the tour, Gibby brought in almost $400,000 and was ranked fourteenth. That ranking jumped to eighth the next year when he won three tournaments and finished with $603,630 in earnings. The Chattanooga native was topped in 1992 tournament victories only by the irrepressible Lee Trevino. That year, Gibby won the Southwestern Bell Classic, the Kroger Classic, and the First of America Classic. Although 1992 was his best in terms of tournament victories, Gilbert continued to find success on the Senior Tour with victories in 1993 at the Las Vegas Senior Classic, in 1996 at the Boone Valley Classic, and in 1997 at the Royal Caribbean Classic. With total senior earnings topping $3,000,000, it is safe to say that Gibby Gilbert is one of the most successful Senior Tour golfers of all time.
