Clay Homan knows it will be difficult to defend his Greenwood Country Club Invitational championship, but he is looking forward to the challenge.
Homan, the golf coach at Mississippi State, will begin defense of his title Friday when the 59th annual GCC Invitational kicks off.
"The field looks quite strong with a wide array of young college golfers. Those guys stay sharp and competitive throughout the summer," said Homan, a two-time winner of the Mississippi State Amateur Championship. "I've only played in one tournament this year (a third-place finish in the State Amateur). My game is OK right now, but it has certainly been better. My putting is off, but that's because I haven't played much. Maybe I can get a little work in this week on that."
Homan, who played golf at MSU from 1991-1995, won last year's GCC Invitational by five shots, finishing at 10 under par for the three-day event, which is one of the oldest stroke-play tournaments in the state. He beat Rodney Boswell by five shots and two-time defending champion Will Dottley by six.
"I am really looking forward to coming back to Greenwood. The people there really get behind the tournament. It's a big deal to them and the community," Homan said. "It has really developed into one of the top one or two tournaments in the state."
Homan, a second-team All-SEC selection as a senior with the Bulldogs, is considered the favorite by several tournament organizers.
"Clay would be my No. 1 pick," said GCC golfer and Robert Pannell, "with Kyle Ellis, Trey Denton, Beck Troutman and Matt Fast right behind him."
"Clay Homan will certainly be in the mix, but there are probably as many 15 guys who can compete to win this tournament," said Randy Bensley, the PGA professional at Greenwood Country Club. "We have a super-competitive field, and we're looking forward to a great tournament."
Ellis, an Ole Miss golfer from Senatobia, won the Mississippi State Amateur in early June with a four-day total of 14 under at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club in Choctaw.
He also won the Back Acres Invitational on his home course in Senatobia with a two-day total of 3 under.
This past weekend he finished second in the Spirit of America Tournament in Decatur, Ala. He shot 3 under par for four days and lost by one shot.
"I am coming into the Invitational playing solid golf. I am playing with a lot of confidence right now," said Ellis, who had three top-5 finishes for the Rebels last season. "The key at Greenwood is keeping the ball in the fairway, because I am sure the course will be playing fast and firm, and you have take advantage of the five par-5s. All of them are birdie holes."
Denton, of Canton, plays golf at the University of Arizona, where he had four top-20 finishes last season, including three top-10s. The former Madison-Ridgeland Academy standout finished second in the 2006 Mississippi State Amateur with a four-day total of 12 under.
Troutman, one of LSU's top golfers, was just one of two Tigers to participate in all 11 tournaments last season, finishing with a 73.8 stroke average in 33 rounds. The former Parklane Academy star finished the season with a team-leading 11 rounds at par or better, including two rounds of 3-under 69, and led LSU with three top-10 finishes.
Fast, of Hattiesburg, had one top-10 finish during his freshman season at MSU. He finished second at last year's State Amateur and wound up tied for sixth in the 2005 GCC Invitational.
Other college golfers expected to be atop the leaderboard this weekend are MSU golfers Jake Lambert, Josh Oller and Logan Young and Ole Miss golfer Brice Bailey.
Ricky Sims of Canton, the 1988 GCC Invitational champ, knows the course well and is always capable of being around the top of the leaderboard. He won the Norman Bryant state match play tournament in May at Colonial Country Club.
Erin McDonald, one of the top amateur golfers in Memphis, Tenn., is back after missing last year's event. He finished seventh in his first GCC Invitational in 2004, winding up at 1 over after a disastrous final-round 77.
Local favorites are Alan Ellis, Robert Pannell and Hugh Muse, all of Greenwood. Ellis, a three-time club champion at GCC, recently finished second place in the Greenville Invitational with a two-day score of 6 under. It was his second runner-up finish in Greenville.
Alan Ellis had a strong showing at the state am after a disappointing first-round 80. He was 2 under for his final three rounds and finished 15th.
"I've been playing pretty decent all summer. Things have fallen off a bit the last couple of weeks, but I think I've got that worked out. And I am looking forward to a good weekend," said Ellis, whose best GCC Invitational finish came last year when he shot a final-round 69 to grab fifth place.
Muse, an Ole Miss golfer, has a pair of top-15 finishes to his credit this season, one at Canton and one at Back Acres.
Pannell, who has several top-10 Invitational finishes in the past 10 years, shot a 3-under-par 69 during a practice round on Wednesday.
