With the City Golf Championship starting today at Moila Country Club, defending champion Brad Nurski knows what he wants to do with the par-71 course.

“Moila’s probably my worst course,” the three-time champion said. “Get that out of the way hopefully with a lead, and go back to the home golf course at Fairview and hang on at Country Club, hopefully.”

Nurski enters the three-round tournament as the odds-on favorite to win again. He topped the field by 12 strokes last year and now owns championships in the last three city tournaments he has entered.

During a strong summer, Nurski came within one stroke of earning a spot in the U.S. Open and earned his seventh Fairview Club Championship. But Nurski noted another strong field in the championship flight, including past champions Brian Haskell (2003, 1991-1993, 1988), Matt Thrasher (2004) and Harry Roberts (2002), as well as Mark Korell and Greg Diederich Jr. — both strong contenders to earn a first title.

“It’s pretty deep every year,” said Nurski, who also won city titles in 2006 and 2000. “It’s normally the usual suspects that are playing. If I could get lucky and get a win, it’d be great. It’s great competition, and it won’t be easy.”

The left-handed Missouri Western graduate specifically touted Haskell as a strong challenger. Since his title in 2003, Haskell has finished runner-up twice and sixth once. Like Nurski, he did not play in the 2006 City Golf Championship due to a conflicting Missouri Golf Association event.

“He’s becoming quite the crafty veteran,” Nurski joked. “He’s a damn good golfer, and he has all the respect in the world from me.”

Haskell and Nurski agreed that the field offers up to about a dozen potential winners, but Haskell knows where the favorite tag lies. Haskell always monitors Nurski’s progress in any competitive situation.

Haskell could only offer one solution to slow Nurski this weekend.

“Break his leg,” Haskell joked. “He’s been playing good all summer. We always have pretty competitive matches when we play the last 8 to 10 years. I always look to him first to see how far ahead he is or how far back he is.”

Assistant sports editor Ross Martin can be reached at rossmartin@npgco.com