Paul Garner has been in this position before. In fact, he’s been in this position before at least two other times.

As the defending Selma Country Club Championship men’s winner, Garner must now take on 54 other challengers to his title and attempt to pull off a sweep of major club championships.

“I am not sure how often it’s been done, but it sure would be neat to win the club championship and the invitational championship in the same season,” Garner said. “I haven’t been playing a lot of golf lately, so I’m not really sure what to expect this weekend.”

Golfers in four different divisions will take to the course beginning Saturday morning. Golfers in the men’s, ladies’, senior and junior divisions will take on a course that club pro Tommy Burns says is in excellent condition.

“Considering the weather we’ve had, the course is in fantastic shape,” Burns said Thursday. “The rough is pretty thick right now, thanks to the rain. It really is going to penalize players if they get in the rough.”

Burns said the 85 golfers, who have registered to compete in the championships, should also expect slightly faster greens than they might have been used to over the summer.

“We are rolling the greens each day beginning Friday, so the players will have really good greens, but they will also be a little faster because of that,” Burns said.

Both Burns and Garner said the tournament — as with most tournaments on the course — will likely come down to the finishing holes.

“If you look at the course beginning with No. 11 and think that No. 11, No. 14 and No. 17, are absolutely birdie holes, then you are looking at probably the hardest eight finishing holes you will find anywhere,” Garner said. “It is a really tough stretch of golf.”

Garner would know just how tough it is, considering it came to the final few holes and a playoff hole, for him to claim his first Selma Invitational in May.

“Whichever golfer can play the final three holes the best is usually the person who wins,” Burns said.

No. 16 is a 430-yard par 4, followed by a short but difficult 497-yard par 5 on No. 17 that has water in play. The final hole, No. 18, is a 440-yard par 4, that Garner had to birdie in order to push the Invitational into a playoff this year.

The juniors division, which has 20 golfers this year, will begin play Saturday at 8:30 a.m. along with those competing in the ladies’ division. Last year’s champion Jessica Stewart is not among the six women competing this year.

Travis Johnson is one of three seniors taking part in the seniors’ division and will be defending his 2010 crown. A total of 55 golfers will be chasing the men’s title.

Both the seniors and men tee off at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The two-day event will end Sunday afternoon and feature a banquet for the players Sunday evening.