CRANBERRY TWP — The field for the Butler Eagle County Amateur is filling up fast — and the tournament favorite hasn’t changed.

Tourney committee member John Carpenter has received 120 entries for the Aug. 11 golf event at Cranberry Highlands and hopes to hike that total to 160 over the next 10 days.

Among the early entries is St. Jude Golf Club member Sean Knapp, who has won the event four times in the past five years.

The only man to defeat Knapp during that stretch — Bennett Smith in 2011 at Hiland — will not be playing in this year’s tourney.

“It’s a well-run tournament that I really enjoy,” Knapp said. “Being an 18-hole event, it’s a sprint and anything can happen.”

Knapp bested the 152-golfer field with a 2-under-par 68 last year at Oakview Golf Club. Last year marked the fifth time in 10 years the Eagle County Amateur attracted 150-plus golfers.

Carpenter is encouraging golfers considering play this year to get their entries in.

“We’re concerned about the pace of play and will only accept so many golfers for the morning round,” Carpenter said. “Once that round is filled, people will be bumped to the afternoon.”

Besides Knapp, the only former Eagle County Amateur champions registered thus far are Rob Voltz (2007) and Jim Hepler (1996). Defending women’s champion Jane Wyman is planning to play as well. This year marks the 19th annual tourney since it was resurrected in 1995.

Starting times are 7:45 a.m. or 1:15 p.m. Besides Carpenter, committee members include Voltz, Tom Sheehan, Bill Black, Jay Frederick and Bob Jarecki.

Entry fee is $75 and includes cart, lunch, skins games and prizes. Call Carpenter at 724-794-4040 for more information or to register.

“There are five picturesque par 3’s on this course and three par 5’s,” Carpenter said. “It’s a par-70 course and one that’s new to us. That will present a lot of variables to the field.”

The course will be new to Knapp as well.

“I played it once before, seven or eight years ago when it first opened,” he said. “I’m sure it’s very different now.

“I was hoping to get a practice round in there before the tournament, but that’s not going to work out. In an 18-hole event like this, you make one bad mistake or judgment and it’s going to cost you. It will take a low score to win this.”

Cranberry Highlands will be the fifth course the Eagle County Amateur has been played on, joining Hiland, Lake Arthur, Oakview and Pheasant Ridge.

Knapp recently reached the final 16 in the U.S. Amateur Public Links event in Virginia. The week before that, he was leading the U.S. Seniors Open after eight holes in Omaha, Neb. He did not make the cut, however.

“I was sitting atop the leader board after eight holes and sitting in my car after 36 holes,” Knapp said. “That’s how quickly things can change.

“But that was a fun couple of weeks for me.”

At this year’s Eagle County Amateur, golfers in the championship and first flights will play from the back tees (6,500 yards) while golfers in the second and third flights will play from the middle tees (6,100 yards).

Women will play from the front tees (5,500 yards).

“We want to make play as fair as we can,” Carpenter said.

Travis Shingleton won the first flight last year. Kevin Zitzman won the second flight and Ron Vodenichar repeated as third flight champion.