San Francisco City quarters set; title defense still possible

March 10, 2019 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff

Travis Peterson (Photo by Mike Benham)

Travis Peterson won three matches at TPC Harding Park this weekend, and defending champ Jason Anthony was also in that group

For defending San Francisco City champion Jason Anthony, the weekend got progressively easier. The 64-man field played three matches at TPC Harding Park over Saturday and Sunday, and Anthony won each by a larger and larger margin.

The former Fresno State player barely scraped by in the first round and needed an extra hole against Gary Knight just to guarantee himself a match on Sunday. From there, he took down Aaron Chen, 2 and 1, before needing only 14 holes in his Round of 16 match against Andrew Bernick.

Anthony, 35, has logged top-10 finishes at the Fresno City Amateur and the Stocker cup since his San Francisco City win a year ago. He was affectionately dubbed as an “old guy” in a tournament that – like many – skews young.

While Anthony ran the gauntlet as the No. 2 seed, top-seeded Finigan Tilly, a member of the Cal roster who earned that spot through 36 holes of qualifying, went down in his first match. After trading the lead back and forth with No. 64 seed George McNeely for 18 holes, Tilly lost on the 20th hole to a McNeely par.

For McNeely, an 18-year-old from Carmel, Calif., the thrill of victory was short-lived. Travis Peterson pulled the same trick on Sunday morning, taking down McNeely in 20 holes. Peterson went on to defeat Dylan VanderVeer, a junior at St. Mary’s College, in the afternoon by a 1-up margin.

Along with Anthony on the bottom of the bracket, San Francisco City returners Brett Viboch and Bobby Bucey also advanced to the quarterfinals. The two men must win the next match to face off against each other, which would make for an excellent match considering that they are also four-ball partners. The two were medalists at last year’s U.S. Amateur Four-Ball and won the NCGA Four-Ball title in 2016.

Quarterfinal play will resume on Saturday March 16 in the championship division, while the open division has been whittled down to four players in each of six brackets.

In the women’s division, top-seeded Sophie Thai got a big 6-and-4 victory over Andrea Gomez to move into the quarterfinals. Only Danielle Suh’s victory was bigger. The No. 4 seed defeated Grace Bettis, 7 and 6, to earn a tee time for next weekend.

Results: San Francisco City Men's Championship

Place	Player	Location	Pts
Win	Evan Peterson	Clovis, CA	180
Runner-up	Jason Anthony	Fairfield, CA	120
Semifinals	Anthony Verna	Orinda, CA	80
Semifinals	Bobby Bucey	Concord, CA	80
Quarterfinals	Travis Peterson	Santa Rosa, CA	50

View full results for San Francisco City Men's Championship

About the San Francisco City Men's Championship

San Francisco City quarters set; title defense still possible

>> 2026 TOURNAMENT PORTALMen's Championship is now FULL. All participants must register for pre-qualifying. Should there be withdrawals in the main field, spots will be granted based on your registration time/date for pre-qualifying. **Entry Procedur...