The field is down to eight at the Idylwylde Invitational, with almost half of the survivors looking to secure the title for the second time or more in their golfing careers.

Joey Kremer (2023 champion) beat Mike Roberts (2018 champion) 4 & 3, Kyle Rank (2014 & 2016 champion) eliminated Aiden Deng 5 & 4 and Johnny Svalina (2024 champion) downed Jason Prpic 2 & 1 - the latter having carded the best score among Idylwylde club members with a 72 on Friday.

Rounding out the quarter-final matchups are Jacob Lacko (6 & 4 over Nicolas Dessureault), Chris Bevan (4 & 3 over Dayton Price), Drake Robitaille (1-up over Ryan Bastien), Sam Coons (25th hole over Camden Poirier) and Patrick Maloney (6 & 5 over Brian O'Connor.

A graduate of Laurentian University, Lacko made it through to the Sunday final four in 2024 in his second crack at championship flight, following a game plan that likely differs from some of the other young long-ball strikers.

"I need to play simple pars," he said. "It kind of lulls the guy to sleep and they get in their own way. Keep it in play and put the pressure on them."

A very familiar face at tournaments in and around Sudbury, Lacko has one other "key to victory" that falls very much in line with pretty much every other contender of the storied northern golf event that will crown its 78th champion on Sunday.

"Course management is so important here with these greens," he said. "You have to keep everything short of the hole."

The Saturday afternoon quarter-final matchups are as follows: Kremer vs Rank; Lacko vs Bevan; Robitaille vs Coons; Svalina vs Maloney.