PREVIEW: 2026 San Francisco City Championship
March 4, 2026 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff
see also: PRE-QUALIFIER: San Francisco City 2026 Men's Championship, Lincoln Park Golf Course
March-long qualifying road from Lincoln Park to TPC Harding Park, plus dates and past champions.
There are championships that unfold over a weekend — and then there’s San Francisco City, a true March-long municipal marathon. With a pre-qualifier, a two-course weekend qualifier, and match play that stretches across multiple weekends at TPC Harding Park, “The City” feels less like an event and more like a season.
2026 Dates at a Glance (The March Road)
- Mar 6: Pre-Qualifier (Lincoln Park)
- Mar 7–8: 36-hole qualifier (Harding + Lincoln)
- Mar 14–15: Match Play Rounds 1–2 (Harding)
- Mar 21–22: QFs/SFs + 36-hole Final (Harding)
- Mar 13: Qualifying (Lincoln Park)
- Mar 14: Match play begins (Harding)
- Mar 15: Quarterfinals (Harding)
- Mar 21: Semifinals (Harding)
- Mar 22: 36-hole Women’s Final + Inkster/Senior finals (Harding)
- Mar 17: Qualifying (Harding)
- Mar 18: First round (Harding)
- Mar 19: Second round (Harding)
- Mar 20: Quarterfinals (Harding)
- Mar 21: Semifinals (Harding)
- Mar 22: Final (Harding)
- Super Senior: Qualifying Mar 18, Finals Mar 22 (Harding)
- Open Flights: Match play starts Mar 14 (Lincoln), finals Mar 22 (Harding)
What Makes “The City” Different
The City isn’t just a championship — it’s a qualification journey. The format rewards players who can handle multiple environments, multiple weekends, and the emotional swing from stroke play to match play. In a golf world full of quick turnarounds, San Francisco’s city championship still asks you to earn it over time.
- Pre-Qualifier (Mar 6): A pressure-cooker day at Lincoln Park for players who enter after the weekend qualifier field is full.
- 36-Hole Qualifying (Mar 7–8): 18 holes at TPC Harding Park + 18 holes at Lincoln Park — one combined score to reach match play.
- Match Play Begins (Mar 14): The tournament shifts from “make birdies” to “win holes,” and every mistake gets a spotlight.
- Final Weekend (Mar 21–22): Quarterfinals/semifinals build to a 36-hole Championship Final on Sunday.
Past Champions (Last 5 Years)
Two Municipal Stages, One Championship Identity
The City’s identity is tied to its courses. The qualifier blends the championship demands of TPC Harding Park with the exposed, ocean-influenced test at Lincoln Park. That two-course equation is part of what makes the eventual brackets feel earned — and why March in San Francisco can reshuffle expectations in a hurry.
- TPC Harding Park: Championship match play lives here — where every miss tends to compound.
- Lincoln Park: The proving ground for qualifying and seeding — and a course that rarely gives “comfortable.”
A History That Feels Alive
While professional golf has come and gone at Harding Park, it’s amateur competition that has kept the legend of this storied public links alive. The San Francisco City Championship began in 1916, and over the decades it has become a tournament that locals talk about the way other places talk about majors.
That’s the mystique: fog drifting in, cypress-lined corridors, and a month-long path that forces players to keep proving themselves — again and again — until only one is left.
How to Follow
About the San Francisco City Pre-Qualifier
>> 2026 TOURNAMENT PORTAL Once the number of entries for the Men's Championship reaches 148 players (including spots held for exempt players), all additional entrants will enter the pre-qualifier as described below. Hosted on March 6, the number of p...
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