BENTON HARBOR – Beautiful weather greeted the players of the Champions Tour as they began play in the 73^rd Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid at The Golf Club at Harbor Shores.

The forecast for today’s round includes temperatures in the middle 80s and windy conditions in the afternoon. Rain and thunderstorms remain in the forecast for Friday and Saturday morning.

The golfers could face temperatures in the 90s for the final round Sunday with high humidity.

The first round kicked off at 7:30 a.m., but most fans were waiting for the 8:10 group to tee off.

Jeff Sluman, Fred Couples and Kenny Perry arrived on the first tee and were greeted by a large round of applause. They teed off and headed up the first fairway.

The group is off to a slow start with Sluman leading the way at even par through six. Perry is two-over and Couples three-over.

David Frost and John Cook are currently tied at two-under Both have played six holes.

Here are some facts about the Senior PGA Championship:

• The winner of the 73^rd championship will take home $378,000. The player who comes home 70^th will get $4,000.
• Any player missing the 36-hole cut will be paid $1,000.
• Harbor Shores Golf Course Superintendent Brad Fry and his staff have the course in marvelous condition. The primary rough for the championship is 3-inches tall.
• Water comes into play on 16 of the 18 holes.
• There are 72 sand bunkers on the course.
• There are 32 former Western Amateur competitors in the field of 156 golfers, including back-to-back winner Hal Sutton. Other former winners include Andy North, Andy Bean and Bobby Clampett.