The event, named for club founder John T. Lupton, is played on the Pete Dye-designed course that hosted the 1991 U.S. Amateur and 1996 NCAA Championship won by Tiger Woods.

The 54-hole event includes a 36-hole cut and features mid-amateur, senior and super senior flights.

This year's field is top notch with some of the nation's top players ready for Round 1.

Defending champion Thad Hudgens is not in the field but two-time winner and last year's runner-up Kris Mikkelsen is back and hoping to return to the winner's circle with his third title.

Among the contenders is former Carlton Woods Invitational champion Colby Harwell. Harwell won the Crane Cup back in the fall and recently took fifth at the San Antonio Spring Amateur.

Other competitors in the Mid-Amateur flight include Tim Spitz, of Pittsford, NY, who recently won the C.B. MacDonald Cup at the Travis Invitational.

Brad Wilder is another member of the field that competed at the Travis.

Recent Pasadena (Calif.) City Championship winner Dan Sullivan enters the field playing well, too. He came back to win in the final round to add to his solid resume.

In the Senior Division, Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C. return to defend the title he won last year in a playoff over Doug Hanzel, who would, of course, go on to win the U.S. Senior Championship.

Hanzel will be back, too, leading one of the year's best senior fields.

Randy Elliott, Jack Hall and Paul Schlachter round out the Senior Division's contenders.

Don Kuehn returns to defend his Super Senior title. He'll battle with players like Don Marsh, Walt Martin, Steve Melnyk and Ted Smith in this small but high-quality field.

All told, the Lupton features players from 26 states and two players from Canada.

This year's event is being played for the first time on Champion Ultradwarf Bermuda. The greens are set to roll firm and fast, checking in at no less than 12 on the stimpmeter. Throughout the event, AmateurGolf.com will have complete coverage of the event, including round-by-round results and recaps.

For a full look at the field, use the link below.