John Aubrey Sr. was on the 17th fairway at the 84 Lumber Classic Tuesday when the call came in.

His wife Geannie answered the cell phone. On the other end was a faceless voice from the USGA with a simple question.

"They asked her, 'Is your husband available next week to play in the Senior U.S. Open?'" Aubrey said. "My wife said, 'Yeah, he's playing.'"

And so Aubrey gets another shot at one of the most prestigious tournaments in golf, the Senior U.S. Open, which will be held this year at the NCR Country Club in Dayton, Ohio, starting July 28.

Last year, Aubrey won the qualifier and made the cut at the Open, held at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. He finished 46th.

Aubrey was second at the qualifier this year at Williams Country Club in Weirton, W.Va., shooting 2-under par, which was three strokes off the pace of winner Roy Vucinich, who also won the 84 Lumber Classic Tuesday.

Aubrey, though, was the first alternate in case anyone dropped out of the Open field.

Someone did, although Aubrey said he doesn't know who bowed out and let him in.

"It's an honor to play in it," Aubrey said. "Normally, the USGA doesn't call you. You have to go to the event and wait at the first tee to see if someone hurts an elbow warming up or something. Those guys get hurt real easy."

Aubrey is driving to Dayton today to play 18 holes at the course, then he'll play 18 more Thursday morning before driving back to Butler.

He has no idea what challenges NCR Country Club holds or if it is a course suited for him.

But he said he would know pretty soon.

"I'm a cut, fade golfer," Aubrey said. "If there are a lot of doglegs to the left, it will be a hard course for me. I'll find out right away."

Aubrey had a charmed first round at the US Open last year. He was leading the pack after six holes, thanks to a hole-in-one on No. 3. That helped him make the cut.

He's hoping for some of the same fortune this year.

"You're playing against the best players in the world, and the world is pretty big," Aubrey said. "If you can make the cut - they start out with 144 and cut down to 60 or 70 - that is a great accomplishment."

Aubrey said the key to making the cut is not going out too hard in the first two rounds.

"You can't win a tournament in the first two days, but you can lose it," Aubrey said. "You can get an early airplane ride home. After you make the cut, then you can go like heck."

Aubrey shot a 75 Tuesday in the final round of the 84 Lumber Classic to finish the tournament at 5-over, which was good enough for eighth place.

Aubrey said he feels he is playing pretty well heading into the biggest tournament of the season.

"I feel like I am," Aubrey said. "I am 54 years old and you lose a little bit. But you never know what will happen out there. I can still play a little bit."