This week will mark my fifth Texas-Oklahoma Junior Golf Tournament to cover.
I'm sure that number pales in comparison to some of the other Wichita Falls area media members, but it hasn't taken long for this to become an event I look forward to every year.
All four years, I have witnessed something special on the golf course.
In 2014, my first T-O, I saw Kingfisher, Oklahoma's Mason Overstreet win his second straight title. He was grouped with Brody Blackmon and Wichita Falls native Jason Fitzgerald on the final day and that trio torched the Champions Course at Weeks Park for a combined round of 14 under. It was the most fun I've ever had riding around in a cart on a golf course.
But it also set a high standard for my expectations of the T-O. Still, the tournament has yet to let me down.
Overstreet came back in 2015 and won a third straight T-O championship, a feat that had never been accomplished before. He's one of the greatest champions in the illustrious history of the T-O and currently playing for the Arkansas Razorbacks. He finished second in the NCAA National Championship tournament as a freshman.
But even after Overstreet moved on from the junior golf ranks, the T-O continued to produce unforgettable moments.
In 2016, 16-year-old Dawson Lewis tied the Champions Course record with an 8-under 64 in the final round, coming from five strokes back to win the tournament.
Last year, ShaeBug Scarberry became the sixth golfer to win back-to-back T-O championships in the girls division. And that brings us to the potential great moment of the 2018 tournament.
Scarberry is back in the T-O field due to tee off for the first round at 7:10 a.m. Monday on the Wichita Falls Country Club's first hole. And when doing so, she'll be on a quest to become the first female to win three straight T-O championships.
Scarberry just completed an immaculate senior season at Purcell, Oklahoma, winning all eight tournaments she played, including a third straight state title. She was selected as The Oklahoman's All-City Golfer of the Year.
Scarberry stands out on the golf course for the bright knee-high socks she wears, which match her vibrant personality. This is her last T-O, but win or lose, she won't soon be forgotten by those associated with the tournament.
Scarberry won last year's tournament by three strokes, but her two closest competitors are back to try to stop her win streak. Summer Marshall of Norman, Oklahoma, was second last year as a 16-year-old. Alison Gastelum of Chihuahua, Mexico, had an early-round lead in last year's tournament, but finished four strokes back of Scarberry in third.
The top returning finisher in the boys field is Kolton Baber of Devol, Oklahoma, a Midwestern State signee who finished tied for fourth in 2017. Other notable returners include Brock's Garrett Leek, who finished second in this year's Class 3A State Tournament. Only Pottsboro's Austyn Reily, the 2017 T-O runner-up who isn't in this year's field, kept Leek from winning state. Leek will also play golf at Midwestern State in the fall.
There are plenty of local junior golfers in the boys' field, including Crowell's Seth Bearden, who won the Class A state title as a freshman and is playing up in the open championship flight as a 15-year-old.
A native Wichitan has not won the T-O since 1980 when Scott Meares kept the title in Wichita Falls. There are several in this year's field who would like to make the 2018 remembered for that reason.
Here's a list of first-round tee times for area golfers in the boys and girls open championship divisions:
Boys
Ryan Alaniz, Quanah, 8:20 a.m., No. 1 tee
Bryce Gunkel, Wichita Falls, 8:40 a.m., No. 1 tee
JT Boyd, Quanah, 8:40 a.m., No. 10 tee
Imanol Walker, Bowie, 8:40 a.m., No. 1 tee
Seth Bearden, Crowell, 8:50 a.m., No. 1 tee
Braden Norris, Wichita Falls, noon, No. 10 tee
Morgan Wylie, Archer City, 12:20 p.m., No. 1 tee
Dakota Haynes, Vernon, 1 p.m., No. 10 tee
Clayton Laughery, Quanah, 1 p.m., No. 1 tee
Garrison Hall, Wichita Falls, 1:10 p.m., No. 1 tee
Travis Bolles, Wichita Falls, 1:20 p.m., No. 10 tee
Lane Garcia, Wichita Falls, 1:30 p.m., No. 1 tee
Mason Bradberry, Iowa Park, 2 p.m., No. 1 tee
Girls
Mattie Barrington, Olney, 7:10 a.m., No. 10 tee
Scotta Anderson, Wichita Falls, 7:40 a.m., No. 1 tee