John Aubrey Sr. has played on the PGA golf tour. He's teed it up on the driving range next to Fuzzy Zoeller and Tom Kite.

But nothing has been as big to him as what happened last week at Longue Vue Country Club in Verona.

Aubrey qualified for the U.S. Senior Open by beating out a field of more than 40 golfers for the lone spot in the event, which will be held July 29 through Aug. 1 at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis.

Aubrey has never played in an Open, although that has been a lifelong dream of the 53-year-old, who owns Aubrey's Dubbs-Dred golf course in Butler.

He will now.

"I've won a lot of tournaments," Aubrey said. "I've shot a lot of course records, but beating 45 guys for one spot is pretty tough to do.

"Now, when I go out there I may not do well. I may not make the cut. But I'm going. A lot of crazy things can happen in an Open," he added. "It's goofy golf. Guys have been 70 yards from the green and have failed to hit it. It's something special."

Golf has always been something special for Aubrey and his family, and it continues to be.

In the early 1960s, George Aubrey, John's father, made donuts in his shop in Pittsburgh. When he wasn't doing that, he was golfing."He was a heck of a player," John Aubrey said. "He made donuts all night and probably golfed all day. That's what he did."His father had always wanted to own a golf course, and when a small, nine-hole links became available, he jumped at the chance to buy it.He plunked down $100,000 for the course and quickly began renovating it with the help of his sons, John and George Jr."We made a lot of improvements," John Aubrey said. "We changed holes around. When some land became available around it, we bought it and made it 18 holes. We worked hard on that course."The family worked so hard on it that Aubrey turned down a college scholarship to college his father work on the course.

John Aubrey Sr. never picked up a golf club until he was in junior high, but once he did, he was hooked.He played at Butler High School and honed his skills until he qualified for the PGA Tour in 1976.He stayed on the tour that year and the next, traveling around the nation, playing in prestigious events such as the Bob Hope and Jackie Gleason classics, but never finished higher than 20th in any event.But to Aubrey, that wasn't what it was all about, particularly in the '70s when the purses were nothing like they are now on the pro tour."These guys now are winning $5 million," Aubrey said. "They win an event and make $900,000. It wasn't nearly like that when I was on the tour."He remembers sitting around and having a few drinks and more than a few laughs with Zoeller and Kite after a round. He recalls how tour players would go to dinner with each other after an event.He remembers how fun it was to be on the tour, playing golf with friends as much as he was playing against them."Now it's a business," he said. "No one is having any fun out there. It's different today."And so is Aubrey.

Aubrey dropped off the tour after only two years, but he has no regrets because it gave him more time to spend tending to his course and to his family.He still works on the course during the morning and participates in various senior tournaments around the tri-state area in the evenings."I enjoy that," Aubrey said. "I like cutting grass. It's relaxing. It's exercise. You can't always be thinking about golf, golf, golf all the time. These guys on the tour now, they have no family life. All they do is golf."But Aubrey still does golf - and does it well.Two years ago, he played in a Senior PGA event at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.If there is a seniors tournament in the tri-state area, he'll probably be there."I like playing around here," he said. "I'm doing pretty good for a club pro."But his biggest test will be at the end of July, when he plays in the biggest event of his career.He doesn't know what will happen, how the enormity of the event will affect his mind and his swing."I've always wanted to play in an event like this because I've always wanted to see what I can do," Aubrey said. "That's our national championship. Wherever my ball ends up, I'll live with it."Aubrey said anything can happen at such an event."If you can get a few breaks, you never know," Aubrey said. "I've seen people hit some good shots and have things end up bad for him. I've seen guys hit some bad shots and seen things end up good for him. It's all about the breaks. If I can get a few …"