At 7:50 a.m. today, Randy Towner will begin his quest to qualify for the U.S. Senior Open for the second time in three years. Towner, head pro at Alvamar Country Club, will have the home-course advantage working in his favor. Working against him: He doesn’t play nearly as much golf as many in the field of 42, from which one golfer will qualify.

“The favorite?” Towner said when asked if he carried that burden into today’s qualifier because he knows the course so well. “Oh, no. You’ve got Jim Kane, who obviously is a fabulous golfer. Here’s a guy who in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach not too many years ago (1992) finished in the top 25 (tied for 23rd).”

Kane is former head pro at Eagle Bend Golf Course in Lawrence and now golfs out of Edmond, Okla. He won last year’s qualifier by shooting a 65 at Leawood South Country Club. He tees off at 7:40 a.m.

First alternate Matt Seitz from Hutchinson also was invited to play in last year’s Open to fill a vacated slot. Seitz goes off at 8:40.

Other golfers of interest: former Alvamar pro Randy Hunt, now working at Milburn Country Club in Overland Park, tees off at 8:30. Gary McClure of Independence, Mo., last year’s second alternate, goes at 9:30. All players go off the first tee, with the first tee time scheduled for 7:30 and the last for 9:40. They play in groups of three.

Towner pointed to Ron Streck of Tulsa, Okla., the first player to have victories on all three professional tours (PGA, Nationwide and Champions) as another threat to claim the spot in the U.S. Senior Open.

Towner, 55, qualified two years ago but carded disappointing back-to-back 84s at Whistling Straits in Haven, Wis.

“I would be a better golfer if I got another chance, just having gone through the experience,” Towner said.

He added that there are pros and cons to the event being played on his home course.

“You kind of know where to miss shots,” he said. “I won’t hit any shots and go, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that was there.’ And it’s a course where length isn’t a huge factor. It’s more position. It can work both ways. You have to deal with the pressure of wanting to do well at your home course. When it’s at your place, everybody knows about it. Well, not everybody. There will be a lot of people in Lawrence who won’t care. There are a lot of people in Lawrence who don’t even know I play golf.”

Actually, Towner doesn’t play golf all that often anymore. He estimated he has played just 10 18-hole rounds at Alvamar Country Club this season.

“In our business, there’s the business side of it, and there’s also the golf side,” he said. “Most of us have been in the business side, and the golf side kind of fades away. I still want to be competitive. Even though I don’t play a lot, there’s still that pride factor. This is a great chance to compete against the best of your age bunch.”

A USGA official marked the tee spots Tuesday with a small spot of white spray paint and marked today’s pin placements with an even smaller spot of blue spray paint in preparation for the event. Many of the golfers played a practice round Tuesday to get a feel for the course.

Former Kansas golf coach Ross Randall, who announced his retirement from the athletic department Tuesday, has played the course many times and has seen many big hitters play it the wrong way.

“You’ve got to play the holes the way they’re designed,” Randall said. “People get in trouble trying to cut doglegs. When they go against what the course tells you to do, they get into trouble.”