The 66th annual PGA Senior Championship opens at 7:30 a.m. Thursday when Butler's John Aubrey Sr. tees off at Laurel Valley Golf Club.

And he's not crazy about leading off.

Aubrey will be joined by Dick Mast of Wintergarden, Fla., and David Thore of Greensboro, N.C., in his threesome when he starts play on hole No. 1.

"This isn't the starting time I was hoping for," Aubrey said. "I'd have preferred to start at 9 a.m. or so.

"I'm gonna have to get up at 5:30 in the morning, it's going to be damp, the course is long, the air's gonna be heavy … It's gonna be tough."

John Aubrey Jr., who will serve as his father's caddy all week, doesn't think teeing off first is such a bad thing.

The elder Aubrey teed off first at the U.S. Senior Open in St. Louis last summer and fared quite well.

"He birdied the first hole, got a hole-in-one on No. 3 and had the lead for a while," the younger Aubrey said. "He generated a few followers, the cameras were on us for a while, it was fun.

"You never know what's gonna happen. Maybe he can generate that kind of excitement again."

So far, the days leading up to the Senior PGA Championship have been tough on everybody.

Aubrey got in a full 18 holes of practice at Laurel Valley Sunday, but didn't keep score.

"I was hitting two or three shots at a time, just getting a feel for the course," he said.

On Monday, he got in only 13 holes of practice because of rainy conditions. He had no one playing with him either day.

On Tuesday, Aubrey got in 13 holes of practice with J.C. Snead. Heavy rain impeded play again.

"We didn't talk a whole lot," he said. "He (Snead) asked what I've been up to, we talked a little bit about fishing - nothing about golf."

Rain has been the talk around the clubhouse so far. It poured at Laurel Valley Tuesday and with more damp weather in the forecast for days ahead, Aubrey won't get the type of golf course he was hoping for.

"I wanted it to be hard and fast," he said of the course. "Instead, it's going to be soft and long.

"Last year I was hitting a lot of 4-irons and 5-irons (at PGA Senior Championship in Louisville, Ky.), which plays more to my game. At Laurel Valley, I'll be hitting a lot of 7-woods and 5-woods."

Aubrey said everything about the golf course will be difficult to play this week - from the fairways to the greens to the length of the holes.

"There's a 600-yard par-5 here and the overall course length is 7,100 yards," he said. "When I've played here before, I played it at about 6,700 yards.

"I'm not the only short hitter out here. This tournament will be difficult for everyone. If you hit the ball in the rough, you're staring at a bogey. There's no way to dig out of it."

Two other Tri-State PGA players - Bob Ford of Oakmont and Gary Hardin of Bethlehem - are among the 156-golfer fielder.

Aubrey, a four-time Tri-State PGA Senior Player of the Year, will be able to call on his son's skills during the tournament.

"When I caddy, I feel like I'm, playing the course myself in my mind," the younger Aubrey said. "You have to do that to get a feel for the tournament and for each shot.

"This is a tough golf course, but it's a beautiful golf course. It has a lot of great scenery. It's a privilege to be out here."