John Aubrey, Sr. sure knows how to keep things in perspective.

The Butler resident and owner and club pro at Aubrey's Dubbs Dred Golf Course had just finished up his final round of the U.S. Senior Open at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis Sunday; a round in which he shot a 77 to finish at plus nine.

"I finished in 46th place out of the best players in the world," he said.

It was the back end of a grueling 36-hole odyssey that all golfers making the cut had to endure since Friday's second round was rained out.

"It was 36 holes in 95 degree heat," he said. "Walking that is an endurance test. Some of those other guys are geared for that and I'm not. But then, those guys are also the best in the world."

In his first 18 on Sunday, Aubrey shot a one-over-par 72 after a 75 on Saturday.

The pinnacle of his performance came in the first round on Thursday.

Aubrey managed an ace on the 145-yard No. 3, using an 8-iron.

"I was deciding what to use and my son (John Jr.) said he thought an 8-iron would work there. So, I used it. The ball hit about two inches in front of the flag, bounced past it and finally came right back and dropped in."

It was Aubrey's third ace in competition, but first in a major.

Aubrey ended Thursday with a 69, good for minus two and just four strokes behind eventual winner Peter Jacobsen, who finished at minus 12.

"I was right in there for a while. It's just a shame we had to get rained out on Friday," Aubrey said. "After that, I knew something weird was going to happen. And it did with us golfing 36 (Sunday).

"The course was very difficult. You had to hit your fairways or you were probably looking at a bogie. Plus the rough was four inches deep."

It was the 53-year old's third major appearance, having golfed in two PGA Championships.