Jon Whittaker couldn’t resist the temptation of playing Hank Haney’s Texarkana Golf Ranch one more time.

The 32-year-old Arkansas native won the inaugural Century Bank Rising Star Open in 2004, just missing back-to-back titles when Andrew Dahl beat him the next year in a sudden-death playoff.

Two-time defending champion Jaxon Brigman is not in Texarkana this week, but Whittaker and Dahl head a 105-man field, which includes several amateurs, including Texarkana’s Chris Chewning. The 72-hole event begins today, with the field being cut to the top 40 and ties after Friday’...