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San Francisco City Championship: Match Play
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 21, 2010) -- Second round matches were completed on Sunday in the Men's Championship Division of the San Francisco City Championship.

In the most notable result of the day, defending champion Carlos Briones saw his quest to repeat cut short by Jonathan Garrick, who won 3&1.

Other high seeds who went down in the second round included 3rd-seeded Taylor Travis, who fell to Adam Ichikawa 2&1; and 5th seeded Mac McClung who lost on the 21st hole to Kevin Wentworth.

Qualifying medalist Cory McElyea did manage to advance, beating Tommy Economou 3&2.

The event is now down to 16 players. There is some extreme talent left with George Gandranata (2009 NCGA Champ and #2 in NCGA points), Geoff Gonzalez (2009 State Amateur Champ and 5th in NCGA points), Scott Hardy (2-time US Mid Amateur semi-finalist), Ricky Stockton (3rd in 2009 NCGA points), and Randy Haag (NCGA 2009 Player of the year, and the only past champ left in the tournament (1999), all strong contenders.

With rain forecast thru the week, it looks like another very wet weekend ahead, and unfortunately Harding with no drainage in the fairways could be close to unplayable. But the “City” will go on, and in two weeks the 2010 SF City Champ will have survived one of the games toughest events to win. The back to back 36 holes in the semis and finals will test those that survive to the max as mental and physical fatigue will play a major role in the final outcome.

The tournament will resume next Saturday, February 27.

Match Play Highlights: (courtesy Randy Haag blog)

Brothers Galletti Square Off -- Brothers Nicolo and Roberto Galletti played in front of Randy in what he described as “a very close and intense match.” Haag is impressed with both players, having been paired with both of them twice, once in the final round of the amateurgolf.com Christmas Classic at Del Monte in December, and then again recently the final day at the amateurgolf.com Wine County Cup at Stonetree GC. According to Randy, “Both these guys can play, but can you imagine being over 20 years old and playing your 14 year old brother?” While the official results only show “Galletti, 2 and 1” we checked with the pro shop and determined that Roberto in fact defeated his younger brother.

A road closure makes it tough for Donovan -- Darryl Donovan got a bad break before he even reached the course. On his way from Gilroy, a long drive as it is, he found that 101 had come to a complete stop. The CHP had closed the 101 in south San Jose due to some downed power lines. Unfortunately for Darryl, he had to somehow get off the freeway and speed the rest of the way, arriving 5 minutes before his starting time. This glitch did not bode well for Darryl as he fell 6 down after 9 holes to George Gandranata.

And what about Randy’s match? To quote Randy directly: "Today, my worthy opponent Scott Roak probably didn’t play his best game or even his average game, but he is a fine gentleman and fierce competitor and I enjoyed being in his group with his dad, Bob for two days. This is again, what I love about amateur golf and the competition; you’ll meet a lot of great new people! My first tee shot of the match was a snap hook off the 1st tee that resembled my 1st two tee shots off #1 last year when I played in the British Senior Open at Sunningdale. Like many of the greatest players in the game have always said, that first tee shot off #1 comes with butterflies, I know they’ll be there, and I look forward to them. Fortunately I was able to snap hook a 6 iron from behind the left trees onto the back fringe and make par. Losing the first hole is never a way to start a match. After the quick hook on #1 I was able to get my driver going for the rest of the round."

-- excerpts from Randy Haags blog were used in this report

Results: San Francisco City Championship
WinCAGeorge GandranataEmeryville, CA150
Runner-upCACory McElyeaSanta Cruz, CA100
SemifinalsOREric GrimbergPortland, OR65
SemifinalsCAPatrick GrimesPalo Alto, CA65
QuarterfinalsCAScott HardyPleasant Hill, CA45

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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