Spent the day on Thursday photographing the opening round of the 73rd Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores, a Jack Nicklaus-designed course in nearby Benton Harbor, Mich. This was my first experience shooting a PGA-sanctioned event. I arrived at the course around 7:45 a.m. and spent most of the morning following the group that featured Fred Couples, who was thought to be a favorite to win the tournament. That wasn’t the case as Couples shot a five-over-par 76, eight strokes out of the lead. I doubled back to the media center after following Couples for the front nine and caught leader Roger Chapman on the back nine. To finish the day, I walked about half the back nine with a 1:40 p.m. featured group that included Fred Funk. In all, I walked about 7.5 miles with three camera bodies. After I was done editing and submitting, I spent the rest of the afternoon laying on Silver Beach in nearby St. Joseph, Mich.
![Senior PGA Championship Fred Couples reacts to a wayward tee shot on the second hole during the opening round of the Senior PGA Championship on Thursday, May 24, 2012, at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich. Couples finished with a five-over-par 76. Couples finished with a five-over-par 76. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)](https://www.brosher.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/seniorpga052412h.jpg)
![Senior PGA Championship Roger Chapman watches his second shot sail towards the 16th green during the opening round of the Senior PGA Championship on Thursday, May 24, 2012, at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich. Chapman shot a three-under-par 68. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)](https://www.brosher.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/seniorpga052412w.jpg)
![Senior PGA Championship Fred Funk takes a practice swing as he waits to start his round on the par 5 10th hole during the opening round of the Senior PGA Championship on Thursday, May 24, 2012, at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)](https://www.brosher.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/seniorpga052412ba.jpg)
![Senior PGA Championship Spectators watch as Fred Couples prepares to tee off on the par 4 6th hole during the opening round of the Senior PGA Championship on Thursday, May 24, 2012, at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich. Couples, considered a favorite coming into the weekend, shot a 5-over-par 76. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)](https://www.brosher.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/seniorpga052412bh.jpg)
![Senior PGA Championship Nobuo Serizawa chips onto the par 5 15th green during the opening round of the Senior PGA Championship on Thursday, May 24, 2012, at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)](https://www.brosher.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/seniorpga052412s.jpg)
![Senior PGA Championship Spectators watch as Jeff Sluman hits a shot to the green from the rough along the 5th fairway during the opening round of the Senior PGA Championship on Thursday, May 24, 2012, at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)](https://www.brosher.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/seniorpga052412m.jpg)
![Senior PGA Championship Fred Couples walks from the first green to the second tee boxes after a bogey five during the opening round of the Senior PGA Championship on Thursday, May 24, 2012, at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich. Couples finished the day with a five-over-par 76. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)](https://www.brosher.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/seniorpga052412bk.jpg)
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