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ESTEVAN — The Estevan Oilfield Technical Society (OTS) is looking forward to the start of its biggest event of the year.

The OTS will host its annual Oilmen's Golf Tournament from Friday to Sunday at the TS&M Woodlawn Golf Course. A total of 289 golfers had signed up as of Monday morning, and registrations have been coming in daily.

The maximum number of golfers they can accommodate is 340.

The tournament will have 18-hole and 36-hole competitions. In the 18-hole event, golfers will play their lone round on Friday or Saturday. Most golfers usually register for the 18-hole competition.

Those in the 36-hole event will play a qualifying round on Friday or Saturday to determine which flight they are in. Then they will play their final round on Sunday. The scores from the 18 holes on Sunday will determine the flight winners and the tournament champion. The winner of the 36-hole event has to come from the championship flight.

There will also be a steak supper Saturday at the Power Dodge Curling Centre.

Tee-off times will begin at 7 a.m. on Friday, said Estevan OTS president Tony Sernick, and most of their tee-off times that day are already booked. The expected start time on Saturday is 8:30 a.m.

"We try to get everybody out on Friday and then that way Saturday we can all get to the curling rink on time for supper," said Sernick. 

The OTS is looking forward to seeing a lot of golfers from outside of Estevan for the tournament. Many of them are from elsewhere in the southeast, but they will also have some golfers from other parts of Saskatchewan, and there will be entrants from Calgary.

The tournament is good for the economy, as it brings people to the city, and it is beneficial for the golf course, too, with so many entered.

Sernick has talked to a lot of people who are looking forward to the tournament.

"We started on May 8 when we opened up registration. We always get a big flood of entries right away. Everybody wants to get the best times. Since then they've been trickling in daily. And then we always expect lots of guys who don't know what they're doing workwise … so lots of guys just wait until the last week to sign up, just due to their work schedule," said Sernick.

The tournament is also a great social event thanks to the number of golfers and the Saturday supper.

The OTS has been looking for some sponsors, but the hole-in-one sponsorships and close-approach prizes have been secured.