Handed the privilege of hitting the first shot of the 66th Senior PGA Championship Thursday at Laurel Valley Golf Club, John Aubrey Sr. didn’t disappoint.

The Butler resident and owner of Aubrey’s Dubbs Dred golf course shot par on hole No. 1, then birdied the next two to take a brief lead.

“The amount of respect I have for the old man keeps growing and growing,” said John Aubrey Jr., his son and caddy. “This had to be hard for him.

“I’ve played in two national events myself and I know there’s pressure, especially when you’re teeing off first. Then he goes and birdies two of the first three holes.”

Aubrey wound up with a 2-over-par 74 for the day, six strokes behind tournament leader Graham Marsh. Aubrey was scheduled to tee off at 12:30 p.m. today.

Aubrey also birdied holes 14 and 15, but he had six bogeys, including two three-putts.

“It was a solid round, but it could have been better,” the elder Aubrey. said. “I missed some opportunities.”

On the 190-yard par-3 No. 17 hole, Aubrey landed his tee shot in the middle of the green.

“The pin was to the right and I figured I’d set up for a 25- to 30-foot putt and at least get par,” Aubrey said. “There was about a five-foot bank on my first putt and I left it four feet short. Then I rimmed it.

“On the par-5 No. 18, I missed an eight-foot put for birdie. Those last two holes were a tough way to end it.”

Still, Aubrey left himself in position to make the cut today. If he does, it will be the fourth time in as many tries he made the cut while playing in a PGA Seniors major.

“I’ll probably have to shoot a 74 or better to stay in it,” Aubrey. said. “I just hope the rain holds off.”

Rain is forecast for late this afternoon.

While Thursday’s weather turned out to be sunny and warm, Aubrey missed out on most of the latter.

“It’s a special thing to start off the tournament, but I wish it was 65 degrees when I did. It was around 48 degrees,” Aubrey said.

But Aubrey wasn’t alone on the course. He said about 200 fans were on hand for the start of play, including plenty from Butler.

“I probably saw 35 to 40 people from Butler during my round,” he said. “That felt pretty good.”

The younger Aubrey said his father “had some unfortunate breaks” during the first round.

“I thought he played very well,” he said about his father “He was swinging every club solidly. I didn’t see any flaws today.

“He may hit the ball well again (today), but crazy things happen in this game. I believe he can still win this thing — or he could finish dead last.”

Aubrey, who hit some balls with John Mahaffey after his round and also talked with Tom Watson and Fuzzy Zoeller, said he has the respect of the touring PGA Seniors.

“They all know me and they know I can play,” Aubrey said. “I can beat any of those guys on a given round.

“They don’t scare me at all. I feel fine playing with them because I know I can play with them. I just don’t play in these tournaments as often as they do.”

Aubrey said the club pros will be much more nervous than the touring pros during play today.

“It’s only natural,” he said. “If (the touring pros) miss the cut, they’re playing in another tournament next week. If I miss the cut, I go home and cut grass.

“This weekend is special to me. The other majors I played in were far away. It’s nice to play in one so close to home.”

John Aubrey Jr. said he is “amazed” his father can hang with the likes of Hale Irwin, Craig Stadler and Tom Kite.

“Dad only plays a couple of times a week,” he said. “These other guys play all the time.”

“I do wonder where my game would be now if I could play more often,” the elder Aubrey said. “Owning a golf course, I could never afford to do that. For a long time, I manicured and took care of that course myself.

“I’m a public links guy playing against a bunch of country clubbers. But I have to admit — I do love beating the country clubbers.”