Courtesy of Erin Bolen • News-Leader • June 22, 2010

Something special happens to the winners of the Missouri Amateur Championship when it's held at Twin Oaks Country Club.

The three previous champions at Twin Oaks all went on to long careers in professional golf.

"That's something that's kind of ironic," Missouri Golf Association executive director Scott Hovis said. "I couldn't tell you what it is, but it might be a great omen for who we crown on Sunday."

Tom Watson, winner of eight major championships, won the first Amateur played at Twin Oaks in 1970. Don Walsworth, who starred at Stanford University in the 1980s and played 15 years of professional golf, took home the title in 1985.

The most recent winner, 2002's Michael Letzig, has earned $2,232,011 in 71 PGA Tour events and has a second-place finish at the 2008 Ginn sur Mer Classic.

The six-day tournament returns to Twin Oaks today for the 103rd Missouri Amateur Championship. Two days of stroke play will whittle the 162-player field down to 64 by Wednesday evening. The remaining players will face off in a match play bracket leading up to Sunday's 36-hole championship round.

"It means a lot (to come back to Twin Oaks)," Hovis said. "Twin Oaks is a great supporter of the Missouri Golf Association, and more than that, they're a huge supporter of the game of golf. It's a treat to come back to a course like Twin Oaks and a city like Springfield."

Twin Oaks club golf professional Rich Brittan did not return phone calls Monday.

There are two players in the field who have played in all four tournaments at Twin Oaks.

Springfield's Rich Gleghorn and Chesterfield's Don Bliss, a previous Amateur champion, will both be playing in their fourth tournament at the course, though neither have won the Amateur there.

They will be joined by a largely local field that includes former Amateur champions Wayne Fredrick, Chuck Greene and Connor McHenry as well as defending champion Skip Berkmeyer.

Last weekend's storms softened the course a little bit, but Hovis said it should still present a challenge.

"To have a great week here, you're going to have to putt well," Hovis said.

"Rain did soften (the greens) just a little bit, but the heat (Monday) and the heat and the wind (today) will dry them out. They're quick now, and they're going to get faster."