The 55th edition of the Canaswacta Country Club features a two-time defending champion looking for the three-peat against a field that has perhaps a dozen or more teams capable of winning the overall championship.

Tim Carson and Scott Seiler Sr. captured their second straight championship in 2012, that after a series of near-misses and runner-up finishes that had to deflate their resolve.

"I don't think people realize how hard it is to win this tournament," Carson said earlier this week in preparation for the tournament. "If people kept track of the practice rounds, we'd have a lot of winners. The pressure of three full rounds of tournament golf, looking at the names on the board, and all of the people watching...it's tough."

Carson has found the perfect complement to his game in Seiler, who has one member-guest championships all over Central New York.

In the face of terrific pressure over the final nine holes of last year's tournament, Seiler came through in the clutch. Staring down with a 30-foot downhill putt for birdie on the par-three 12th hole, Seiler barely rolled it halfway to the hole on his initial putt. Showing steely nerves, Seiler calmly rolled in a 15-foot putt for par. Five holes later and his team clinging to a one-shot lead, Seiler pocketed a five-foot par putt on 17 that all but sealed the victory.

"Even with a partner as good as Scott, you still have to feed off of each other, stay in the game, and contribute when you can," Carson said. "With Scott, he's such a consistent player. He's in every fairway, every hole, and it doesn't matter what the pressure is. What he did on 12 and 17 last year, I was just blown away."