Match play field set for San Francisco City Championship

31 Oct 2021
by Jim Young of AmateurGolf.com
see also: San Francisco City 2024 MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP, TPC Harding Park Golf Course, Daniel Connolly Rankings
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Medalist Daniel Connolly won the NCGA Stroke Play in July<br> (NCGA Photo)

Medalist Daniel Connolly won the NCGA Stroke Play in July
(NCGA Photo)

Coveted spots in the match play brackets for the San Francisco City Men's Championships were secured over the weekend through 36 holes of qualifying at Lincoln Park Golf Course and TPC Harding Park.

San Francisco native Daniel Connolly, who won The City in his hometown in 2016 as a high schooler, earned medalist honors and the top seed by finishing 9-under 131 after carding rounds of 64 (-5) at Lincoln Park followed by a 4-under 67 at TPC Harding. The reigning NCGA Amateur Stroke Play champion made a pair of eagles on two of Harding's reachable par-5's, the ninth and 12th, en route to his 67 and medalist honors.

Amal Mahal of San Mateo, Calif. earned the No. 2 seed at 5-under 135 after rounds of 69 at Harding and 66 at Lincoln Park.

Two of the Bay Area's top junior golfers, Chanhee Ryu of Pleasanton's Foothill High School and Niall Shiels Donegan, a product of Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley landed the No. 4 and 5 seeds, respectively. Ryu, who attends Foothill High School, tied for third with former Pacific golfer Beau Forest at 4-under 136, while Donegan, a product of Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, finished fifth at 3-under 137.

Donegan is no stranger to match play success, reaching the quarterfinals of the prestigious R&A Boys’ Amateur Championship at Royal Cinque Ports in August.

Veteran mid-amateur Jason Anthony, who has a semifinalist in the recent Crump Cup at Pine Valley, will look for his second City championship following his victory in 2018. He also reached the finals in 2019 and was medalist last year.

The cut to advance to match play (top 64) came at 11-over par 151. The round of 64 will take place on Nov. 6 while the round of 32 and 16 will be contested the following day. The quarterfinals and semifinals will take place on Nov. 13 with the 36-hole match play final is set for Nov. 14 at TPC Harding Park.

Kylee Choi

In the Women's Division, 15-year-old Kylee Choi made the trip north from Murrieta (home town of Rickie Fowler) worthwhile by taking medalist honors in the 18-hole qualifier at 2-under 70. Choi took just a single bogey (on the par-3 11th) against birdies on Nos. 3, 7, and the par-3 17th. Olivia Duan, 15, of Cupertino posted 1-under 71 to finish a shot back.

The San Francisco City Golf Championship, commonly known as "The City," is the oldest consecutively played golf competition in the world – 91 years and counting. Former major championship winners Ken Venturi, Johnny Miller, George Archer, Bob Rosburg and Tom Watson took part in The City during the formative years of their careers, but only Venturi and Archer managed to win the championship.

ABOUT THE San Francisco City Championship

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*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.