Another season, another award
Life as a senior golfer has been good to John Aubrey Sr.
Aubrey, 56, owner of Aubrey's Dubbs Dred Golf Course in Butler, recently claimed the Tri-State Section PGASenior Golfer of the Year Award.
It was the fifth time in six years as a member in the seniors division that Aubrey has claimed the honor. He was runner-up to Roy Vucinich last year.
"Nobody in the country has done this five times in six years,"Aubrey said. "There are 42 sections nationwide and the Tri-State section is probably the toughest.
"We've got three seniors here — Roy Vucinich, John Mazza and Bob Ford — who have played on the Champions Tour. I'm pretty proud of this."
Player of the year awards are determined by points accumulated during the tournament season. The top 10 placers in each tournament gain points based on their finish.
Aubrey tallied 652 points, easily beating out runner-up Mazza's 584 for the award. There were 31 senior (age 50 or older) players in the Tri-State section.
Aubrey finished eighth on the section's overall points list, trailing Tri-State Player of the Year John Aber, Barry Evans, Sean Farren, Gordon Vietmeier, Dennis Dolci, Mazza and Vucinich.
"I had a pretty good year, but I struggled toward the end with a little elbow problem,"Aubrey said. "I didn't play well in my last three tournaments.
"I guess that when you're 56, things start to hurt. My elbow just got sore."
Aubrey won the Stonewall Classic in Roanoke, W.Va., on June 26. He finished third at the Frank Fuhrer Invitational July 24 to 26 at Butler Country Club.
Overall, Aubrey finished among the top five in seven tournaments this season. He recently returned from Port St. Lucie, Fla., where he finished 35th among 260 golfers in the Senior Club Pros Tournament.
Aubrey shot a 3-under-par 285 for the 72-hole competition.
"I missed qualifying for the Senior PGAby one stroke,"he said.
Aubrey played in the Senior PGAand the U.S. Open in 2005. He played in no major tournaments this year, but he plans to play a full schedule next season.
"I'll try to qualify for Champions Tour events when they're close by, but I'm not going to chase those guys around every week,"Aubrey said.
In other Tri-State Section PGAnews, Paul Hollstein of Butler Country Club received the Junior Golf Leader Award at the section's annual banquet at Oakmont last month.
