San Francisco City Championships to be decided this weekend

March 31, 2022 | by Jim Young of AmateurGolf.com

Men's championship flight features a mix of veterans and upstarts while four local prep standouts are left on the women's side

Winners will be decided at the San Francisco City Championships as the longest uninterrupted golf competition in the world enters its final weekend of play at TPC Harding Park.

The quarterfinal matches in the men’s championship flight feature an intriguing mix of proven champions and upstarts while four local high school standouts make up the women’s semifinals.

The quarterfinals and semifinals of the men’s division will be contested on Saturday as will the women’s semifinals. The men’s and women’s championship matches will be decided over 36 holes on Sunday.

Men’s Championship Division

The top side of the bracket will see No. 16 seed Kyle Dougherty take on No. 24 seed Beau Forest with the winner advancing to the semifinals against either No. 13 Brett Viboch or No. 5 seed Alex Conley.

The other half of the draw matches No. 18 seed Bobby Bucey against No. 26 William Walsh while No. 46 Ryan Firpo will take on No. 6 Micheal Jensen.

Dougherty, a 2020 graduate of Junipero Serra High School in San Juan Capistrano, tied for second in the AmateurGolf.com San Diego Amateur (South) in January, has a tough assignment against Forest, who played collegiately at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif. The 6-foot-5 Forest won the 2021 AmateurGolf.com Winter Invitational at Corica Park and has enjoyed strong showing this year at the AGC Silicon Valley Amateur (3rd) and the McClure Cup (t-2). After surviving a 1-up win over Ryan Sear in the Round of 64, Forest won his next two matches 4 and 3 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Bobby Bucey (L) and Brett Viboch are still alive in the SF City

Viboch is no stranger to The City, having reached the quarterfinals twice in 2018 and ’19. The 38-year-old grew up in Moraga, attended UC Davis and graduated from Chico State. He then bounced around on various mini tours as a professional before regaining his amateur status. A former employee of Cobra Golf, Viboch worked with tour pros such as Rickie Fowler and Lexi Thompson in the research and testing lab to make sure their equipment met their needs.

Viboch also reached the Final 16 in last summer’s U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship and is no stranger to success on the local amateur circuit, claiming wins at the Chico and Vallejo City Amateurs, and teamed with Bobby Bucey to win 2016 NCGA Four-Ball championship.

A native of San Diego, Conley is a junior at Santa Clara and has played in three events for the Broncos this season, with his best finish coming at the William H. Tucker Collegiate, where he tied for 24th.

Walsh, a junior at Serra High School in San Mateo, took out No. 10 seed Tyler Kowak, 7 and 6, to earn a spot in the quarterfinals where he’ll take on the veteran Bucey, the 2018 California State Amateur champion who also has wins at the 2017 NCGA Mid-Amateur and 2014 NCGA Stroke Play Championships. Bucey reached the semifinals of The City in 2019 and advanced to the Round of 16 in 2020.

The last quarterfinal also features a David vs. Goliath matchup as Ryan Firpo, a junior at Davis (Calif.) High School, matching up against Jensen, a former Cal golfer who won the prestigious Stocker Cup last fall. He has also had deep runs in The City, reaching the semifinals two years ago.

* * * * *

Women’s Championship Division

Youth will be well-represented in the women’s semifinals, where four Bay Area high school standouts will square off on Saturday.

Adora Liu

The oldest remaining participant is Fremont High School senior Adora Liu, who has signed to play at Cal next year. Liu, the 12th seed, will meet a familiar foe in Emily Luo, a sophomore at Monte Vista High School in Danville, Calif.

Luo, the 16th seed in the women’s division, defeated No. 1 seed Amy Na, 2 and last Saturday and then knocked out the eighth seed, Darla May Dela Torre, 1 up to reach the semifinals. After an easy 5 and 3 win over Camille Thai, Liu scored a 1 up win over Cynthia Zhang to earn her spot in the semifinals.

The winner of the Liu-Luo match will advance to meet either Olivia Duan, a sophomore at Cupertino High School or Sydney Silva, a freshman at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland. Both Duan and Silva had easy wins in their quarterfinal matches last weekend en route to their Saturday showdown.

* * * * *

Seniors and Super Seniors

In the men’s senior division, Andy Gabelman will meet Richard Maxwell in one semifinal on Saturday with the winner advancing to Sunday’s 18-hole championship match against either Chris Miller or Daniel O’Connor.

Ray Kong and Rob Miller. Along with two-time senior champion Jim Williams and Frank Apodaca, will square off in the super senior semifinals.

About the San Francisco City Men's Championship

San Francisco City Championships to be decided this weekend

>> 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...

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