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Daniel Connolly Wins San Francisco City Championship
An Irish celebration following Daniel Connolly's win at the San Francisco City Championship<br>Randy Haag photo<br>
An Irish celebration following Daniel Connolly's win at the San Francisco City Championship
Randy Haag photo


SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (March 13, 2016) -- The longest running city championship in the country concluded its 100th event Sunday with Daniel Connolly taking the historic title.

Connolly, a resident of San Francisco, defeated Noah Shiekh 3-and-1 in the 36-hole championship match hosted by TPC Harding Park. The win concluded a long month of golf for Connolly that began with rounds of 71, 76 to earn the 13th match play seed.

Several of those rounds required serious comebacks, and the final was no different.

The Stuart Hall high school senior found himself 2 down with three to play in his opening match against Bryan Baumgarten. Connolly rallied to force extra holes and matched Baumgarten's three consecutive birdies on the first three playoff holes, eventually pulling out the match on the 22nd hole.

A 4&3 win over Aaron Chen in the round of 16 and and a 2-up win over Ben Peters in the semi's further exemplified Connolly's strong play. Although St. Patrick's day is around the corner, the Irish Connolly certainly relied more on his golfing ability than Irish luck in his final match.

Once again down on a rainy San Francisco day, vs. the 6 foot 7 Noah Sheikh, Connolly squared the match, relying on his foul weather play and sheer determination to square the match, then pull ahead.

“It was pretty brutal out there,” Connolly told the San Francisco Chronicle. “But to me, it’s kind of cool; it’s what makes this event unique. You play no matter what.”

And having his father Martin, the owner of the most popular Irish bar and restaurant in San Francisco (Johnny Foley's) on the bag surely didn't hurt.

The elder Connolly, worn out from a weekend of caddying, called the weekend magical.

"[It was] very surreal to be a part of it," he said.

The family had a strong contingency of Irish golfers and friends in the gallery, including Kitt Flood, whose brother Ronan caddies for Padraig Harrington on the PGA Tour. Many of the gallery play just across Lake Merced at The Olympic Club, known for its Irish contingency of members. (Notably, Another Olympic Club member, Randy Haag, won the Senior Championship.)

Connolly won the match in fashion, with a downhill, 20 foot putt on the 35th hole, Harding Park's par-3 17th.

Daniel Connolly (Steve Lewis photo)

The win the biggest in Daniel's young amateur career that includes two U.S. Junior Amateur appearances. In 2013 he recorded a big win at the AmateurGolf.com Christmas Classic, where, at age 16, he shot a shocking 8-under 64 in the final round to grab the title against a field of collegiate players.

We've been paying attention ever since.

Look out for Connolly as he starts his freshman year at SMU this fall.

TOURNAMENT NOTES

The 100th playing of the San Francisco City Championship was dedicated to 1982 champion Ray Pellegrini (1952-2015), a San Francisco golfing legend. Pellegrini played in 45 consecutive San Francisco City Championships, qualifying for an amazing 40 in a row. Visit the Ray Pellegrini tribute page.

Results: San Francisco City Championship
WinCADaniel ConnollySan Francisco, CA180
Runner-upCANoah SheikhWoodside, CA120
SemifinalsCABen PetersRedwood City, CA80
SemifinalsORMarcus PotterTualatin, OR80
QuarterfinalsCARoshan ChekuriPleasanton, CA50

View full results for San Francisco City Championship

ABOUT THE San Francisco City Championship

>> TOUR PORTAL

*An NCGA Points Tournament*

**New Entry Procedure for 2024: Registration opens for all players on October 1. There will be 50 spots held for exempt players under the following categories:

* The past 10 years of the San Francisco City Golf Champions
* 2023 San Francisco City Men’s Championship Match Play Qualifiers
* Top 20 men’s 2022-2023 NCGA Points Lists
* 2023 NCGA Champions (Amateur, Mid- Amateur, Junior)
* The top 3 finishers in each of the 6 AmateurGolf.com Winter Tour events (Dec 2023-Feb 2024)

Registration for exempt players, and for non- exempt players with a handicap index of 6.4 or lower as of the date of entry, opens on October 1 and will remain open until the field limit (120 players including spots reserved for exempt players) is reached. When the field limit is reached, all additional registrants will be entered in the pre-qualifier at Presidio Golf Club on Friday, March 8, 2024.

Once entries close, if there are any unfilled spots in the Men's Championship (due to fewer than 50 exempt players registering or withdrawals), they will be filled by Pre- Qualifier registrants in the order in which they registered.

Players entering pre-qualifying will pay an entry fee of $165 for the pre-qualifier, and those advancing from the pre-qualifier will pay the remainder of the entry fee (must be paid prior to playing).

The 36-hole match play qualifier will be held March 9-10, 2024, with 18 holes played at TPC Harding Park and 18 holes at Presidio Golf Course for a combined 36-hole qualifying score.

There will be 156 players in the qualifying round with 64 players advancing to match play. When all qualifying has been completed, the Men’s Championship Flight will consist of 64 contestants. In the event of a playoff to qualify for match play, a player must be present in order to retain his right to participate in the playoff.

Match play will begin on March 16, 2024. All match play for the Championship Flight (Mar 16-17, 23-24) will be held at TPC Harding Park.

A schedule of all dates of play can be found on the tournament website sfgolfchampionship.com.

WITHDRAWALS AND REFUND POLICY
Players needing to withdraw should do so by filling out the form at sfgolfchampionship.com/con tact/. Players withdrawing before the entry deadline of February 19 will receive a refund of their entry fee minus $50. There will be no refunds after the entry deadline.

CART POLICY
The use of carts is prohibited for players and caddies in the Men’s Championship Flight (Appendix I – Local Rule Applies)

SPECIAL OFFER TO SF CITY PLAYERS:

SF City players get 50% off Strackaline Yardage Books! CLICK HERE for details


ABOUT THE SAN FRANCISCO CITY CHAMPIONSHIP
The oldest municipal tournament in the USA. Match play event with scratch men's, senior men’s, women's, senior women’s, and open flight divisions. Past champions include Ken Venturi, Harvie Ward, Juli Inkster, Bob Rosburg, George Archer, and Dorothy Delasin. Some of the “non winners” include Tom Watson and Johnny Miller. Click the “history” tab for more about this wonderful event.

View Complete Tournament Information

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