Pasadena City Championship readies for recent record field

March 22, 2021 | by Pete Wlodkowski of AmateurGolf.com

The tournament, played in the shadow of The Rose Bowl, will host 384 players Mar 26-29 including defending champ Tim Hogarth

For the last year, The Rose Bowl has been very quiet. While the stadium was able to host four UCLA football games, gone were the usual crowds.

And sadly, the legendary Rose Bowl football game scheduled to be played at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 was moved to Texas' Arlington Stadium due to state restrictions. The last time that happened was in 1942, when the game was moved for safety reasons, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

For the two adjacent Brookside Golf Club courses -- that serve double duty as car parks for football games and concerts -- it's been a different story altogether.

Golf has been an unintended beneficiary of the Covid-19 pandemic, and tee times at top notch public golf courses, as found at Brookside, are hard to come by. And tournament golf may be growing even faster, providing one of Pasadena's other longstanding traditions -- it's City Championship -- a field of 384 players for 2021, with another 100 on the wait list.

The Pasadena City Golf Championship was first played in 1929 and has long been one of Southern California’s most prestigious men’s amateur tournaments. Each year this elite amateur event is held at the historic Brookside Golf Club. The two 18-hole layouts -- each with distinctive tree-lined routings in the shadow of not only the Rose Bowl, but some gorgeous foothills -- were designed by famed architect William P. Bell.

The Championship has been played in several different formats since its founding, including match play and a 72-hole medal play event that ran from Thursday-Sunday. Today, it is a 54-hole medal play event with a 36-hole cut after two days. It features a large championship division for players with a low index of 2.6 or better, along with net flights for players of all abilities.

The Pasadena City is the largest 3-day medal play amateur championship on the West Coast.

Brookside has hosted numerous major golf tournaments, including 11 PGA Tour events (Pasadena Open 1929 –1938 and the Los Angeles Open in 1968). In addition, Brookside hosted the LPGA Tour in 1971, the USGA Public Links Championship in 1974 as well as numerous SCGA amateur events. Brookside is the only golf course in Southern California to have hosted the PGA, LPGA, USGA and SCGA championships.

The Pasadena City Championship is hosted by Brookside Men's Golf Club in collaboration with The Rose Bowl Operating Company, American Golf Corporation and First Tee Greater Pasadena.

In 2019, AmateurGolf.com got involved in the joint effort to bring the tournament back to its glory days, after it took a one year break. Several meetings, email communications, and strategy sessions (combined with some old fashioned storytelling) brought the tournament right back to 350-plus players.

Then the pandemic set in, and the tournament was postponed.

Tim Hogarth, 7-time champion

Testimony to golf's comeback, and the quality of the venue and tournament, the field came back in full force to play a rescheduled July date. It should come as no surprise that legendary Los Angeles amateur player Tim Hogarth took home the trophy, wearing a mask at the ensuing photo shoot for safety.

Related: Tim Hogarth wins his 7th Pasadena City Championship

The 2021 Pasadena City Championship will be played March 26-28, with a field of 384 players led by seven-time, and defending champ Hogarth. He's a wizard around the greens, laser accurate with his drives and approach shots, and knows Brookside like the back of his hand. If you're in the field, bring your A game.

If you didn't get to register in time, make sure to do so early for 2022. There are almost 100 players on this year's wait list!

PASADENA CITY CHAMPIONSHIP - QUICK FACTS

* First Played in 1929
* In its peak years (1975-1990) 640 participants annually made the Pasadena City one of the largest City Championships in the Country
* Mid 1990's to 2018 the tournament dwindled to less than 200 participants
* In 2019 the Championship was cancelled due lack of participation
* In 2020, with renewed leadership, Brookside Mens Golf Club (historic host) teamed up with the Rose Bowl Operating Company, American Golf Corporation, First Tee Greater Pasadena and AmateurGolf.com to revive the Championship
* Proceeds from the Championship go to First Tee Greater Pasadena who have served over 200,000 youth in the San Gabriel Valley since 2005.
*For 2021, the Championship has received nearly 450 entries which is the most since the early 1990's
* The Pasadena City Golf Championship is "BACK" thanks to Brookside Mens Golf Club, Rose Bowl Operating Company, American Golf Corporation, First Tee Greater Pasadena and Amateur Golf.com

About the Pasadena City Championship

Pasadena City Championship readies for recent record field

The Pasadena City is a historic championship that dates back to 1929 and has long been one of Southern California's most prestigious tournaments. A WAGR counting event and SCGA Player of the Year points tournament. Proceeds from the Championship will...

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