There’s two ways Lawrence High’s and Free State’s boys golf teams can look at today’s Class 6A regional tournament at Eagle Bend.

“It’s good and bad,” Free State coach Jack Schreiner said. “The problem is that it’s not Leavenworth Country Club, where course knowledge is so important.”

Familiarity with a course’s layout can be crucial, but because Eagle Bend is an open course with relatively few trees, someone who hasn’t played there can be comfortable.

“It is a very forgiving golf course,” Lawrence High coach Ron Commons said. “You can miss a few fairways on that front side and still play well.”

So that’s a good thing, too.

After all, lower scores mean the golfers can relax instead of worrying about every lie.

“They also feel more confident because it’s at Eagle Bend,” Schreiner said. “They know they can shoot well. But if it’s (sunny and calm), it’s gonna take scores in the mid- to low 70s to qualify.”

Or lower. The top three schools and the top five individuals from non-qualifying schools advance to state.

Of the eight schools at the regional — Free State, Lawrence, Leavenworth, Olathe East, Olathe North, Olathe

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South, Topeka High and Overland Park Aquinas — Olathe North, East and Aquinas will make qualifying the toughest for the Lions and Firebirds.

Aquinas won the Lawrence Invitational Wednesday, shooting a 297, while North (302) and East (303) were more than 10 strokes ahead of both city schools.

The Firebirds haven’t been to state since 1999, when they finished second overall. Senior Aaron Webber is their lone returning qualifier. He was 10th overall last year.

The Lions were second last year, but face an uphill battle to return to state.

“You look at the teams on that golf course, we’re definitely going to have to play well to qualify as a team,” Commons said.

The first group will tee off at 8:56 a.m.