Alabama’s best senior golfers will battle the competition and the heat this weekend when the 12th State Senior Amateur Championship tees off Friday at Selma Country Club.

The 140 golfers will be divided into three age groups (50-56 years old, 57-64 and 65 and older), with the field cut to 60 players after Saturday’s completion of 36 holes.

Selma was chosen as the site for the state tournament three years ago, Selma CC golf pro Tommy Burns said Wednesday.

“They chose us,” Burns said. “You have to be an Alabama Golf Association member club, but they will oversee the tournament. We provide the physical labor.

“It’s like the U.S. Open was this weekend,” he said. “The tournament was at Bethpage.”

Golfer Ronnie Leet of Selma, who will compete in the 57-64 division, said players won’t be buying any mulligans at this event.

“This is a ‘real’ tournament, conducted strictly by the rules,” he said. “I think the state senior amateur coming here is a credit to this course and a credit to Selma.”

Burns said some golfers tried out the course before Friday’s start.

“We’ve had a few play early rounds because it would be hard for everyone to play on Thursday afternoon,” he said, adding temperatures at 90-plus degrees will be a factor. “The heat takes a toll on everyone. It’s going to be tough on some golfers.”

Leet said the course had been adjusted to test the golfers.

“They have tightened the fairways from what they usually are,” Leet said as he drove off the No. 18 tee. “The rough on the right side is about twice as much between the fairway and the trees.

The field is open to Alabama golfers at least 50 years old with a handicap less than 10.8.

Defending champion Bob Dumas of Auburn, who won the 2008 title by one stroke at Riverchase Country Club In Hoover, will be in the field. Alabama Golf Association President David Pearce of Marion Junction will be competing.

A standout in the field is five-time winner Sam Farlow of Birmingham, who captured the title in 1998 and 2000-2004.

Among the Selma contingent in the field are Dr. Don Blanton, Stanley Burns, Kent Taylor and Phillip Henry Pitts.

The first-round pairings Friday are:

12th State Senior Amateur Championship

At Selma Country Club

Friday’s Pairings

50-56 Age Division

Hole No. 1

11:40 a.m.: Allen Ritter, Hoover; Steve Scott, Dothan.

11:50 a.m.: Roger Lucas, Birmingham; Sam Calloway, Tuscaloosa; Jackie Handley, Decatur.

Noon: Donnie Cooper, Huntsville; Tab Hudson, Jasper; Ron Rainey, Madison.

12:10 p.m.: Julian Thomas, Birmingham; John Causey, Greensboro; Hollis Gieger, Birmingham.

12:20 p.m.: Charles Wright, Auburn; Cal Stanford, Florence; Tom Ryan, Greenville.

12:30 p.m.: Frankie Odom, Saint Stephens; Steve Kontos, Birmingham; Patrick Lamar, Huntsville.

12:40 p.m.: William Clingempeel, Hampton Cove; Bill Pockstaller, Centreville; Bill White, Birmingham

12:50 p.m.: Steve Norman, Greenville; Buzz Coons, Birmingham; Lester Mitchell, Demopolis.

1 p.m.: David Striplin, Tuscaloosa; John Johnson, Duncanville; Randy Schwartzenburg, Tuscaloosa.

1:10 p.m.: Dee McLelland, Montgomery; Mark McQueen, Deatsville; Frank Sharker, Deatsville; Alan McAdams, Jasper.

1:20 p.m.: John Stivender, Birmingham; Ray Cantrell, Fort Payne; Bill Griffin, Dora.

1:30 p.m.: Marshall Lemmond, Florence; Rodolfo Gil, Huntsville; Pat Coleman, Tuscaloosa.

1:40 p.m.: Stanley Burns, Selma; Daniel Wagner, Evergreen; Parker Cheatham, Tyler.

Hole No. 10

11:40 a.m.: Keith Drake, Vinemont; Rick Houston, Huntsville; Steve Judson, Birmingham.

11:50 a.m.: Bob Cox, Guin; David Hitt, Tuscaloosa; Hal Thurmond, Tuscaloosa.

Noon: David Beard, Huntsville; Michael Martin, Auburn; Jim Ryan, Brewton.

12:10 p.m.: Rick Stukes, Jasper; Jimmy Goostree, Tuscaloosa; Mike McFarland, Birmingham.

12:20 p.m.: Tom Davis, Hoover; Al Fiore, Huntsville; Earl Thornton, Deatsville;

12:30 p.m.: Billy Wood, Birmingham; Wendell Underwood, Auburn; Mints McGowin, Greenville.

12:40 p.m.: Mike Greer, Birmingham; Robert Pewitt, Birmingham; Bob Poellnitz, Tuscaloosa.

12:50 p.m.: George Walker, Mobile; Fred Lemberg, Huntsville; Bill Moquin, Madison.

1 p.m.: Mark Miller, Birmingham; John Stewart, Birmingham; Bo Harris, Cordova.

1:10 p.m.: Dusty Ellison, Monroeville; Robert Seaborn, Montrose; 1:20 p.m.: Ralph Mathews, Andalusia; David Head, Sterrett.

1:30 p.m.: Richard Jeffers, Mobile; Earle Bidez, Birmingham; Johnny Hayes, Pelham.

1:40 p.m.: Bob Dumas, Auburn; David Hancock, Greenville; Emile Vaughan, Pike Road.

57-64 Age Division

Hole No. 1

7:30 a.m.: Jim Tanner, Montgomery; Bruce Umstaedter, Madison; David Pearce, Marion Junction.

7:40 a.m.: Paul Crowell, Athens; Jimmy Crutchfield, Dothan.

7:50 a.m.: Michael Hoffman, Fairhope; Robert Straub, Courtland; Bill Abell, Calera.

8 a.m.: Cecil Rainey, Greenville; James Hansen, Auburn; Jack Adams, Birmingham.

8:10 a.m.: Ronnie Leet, Selma; Michael Hall, Troy; Tommy Guy, Letohatchee.

8:20 a.m.: Gary Hodge, Madison; Bubba Major, Birmingham; Frank Hickman, Greenville.

8:30 a.m.: Mike McCollum, Decatur; Cecil Yancey, Altoona; Kent Taylor, Selma.

Hole No. 10

7:30 a.m.: John Allgood, Killen; Bill Berkmeier, Birmingham; Joe Terry, Birmingham.

7:40 a.m.: Rick Clay, Birmingham; Frank Toland, Ashland; Bobby Locklear, Albertville.

7:50 a.m.: Mike Norman, Greenville; David Sibley, Birmingham; Joe Terrell, Brewton.

8 a.m.: Earle Drennen, Tuscaloosa; Frank Vines, Birmingham; Bill Shanahan, Pelham.

8:10 a.m.: Roscoe Johnson, Hampton Cove; Scrappy Edgemon, Gulf Shores; Herschel Headley, Prattville.

8:20 a.m.: Ralph Clement, Fort Payne; Michael Ivie, Winfield; Frank Dial, Auburn.

8:30 a.m.: Williams Jones, Jemison; Jerry Taylor, Huntsville; Beanny Thornton, Prattville.

8:40 a.m.: Sidney Wheeles, Tuscumbia; Tom Page, Fort Payne; Tom Worley, Vestavia Hills.

8:50 a.m.: Edward Patridge, Birmingham; Wayne Gardner, Mobile; Mike Fosdick, Theodore.

9 a.m.: David Fry, Montgomery; Sam Farlow, Birmingham; Don Blanton, Selma.

9:10 a.m.: Rene’ Williams, Dora; David Stanfield, Lanett; Dom Istorico, Birmingham.

65+ Age Division

Hole No. 1

8:40 a.m.: Phillip Henry Pitts, Selma; James McMurray, Huntsville.

8:50 a.m.: Jerry Bartholow, Birmingham; Wayne Dees, Livingston; Mack Daffin, Prattville.

9 a.m.: Carl Nelson, Pelham; Bud Lemmond, Florence; Don Lambert, Foley.

9:10 a.m.: Bob Moody, Birmingham; Max Mathews, Andalusia; John Gibbs, Oneonta.