Haag, Beer among winners on tough day at SF City Senior

Early-spring conditions are not always ideal in San Francisco, which was exactly the case on Wednesday as match play got underway in the senior division of the San Francisco City Championship. Wind and rain pelted competitors at TPC Harding Park, but one tournament stalwart in particular hardly seemed fazed.

At the top of the bracket, Randy Haag took down Marshall Langfield, 6 and 5, to easily advance into the Round of 16. Haag, a four-time NCGA Player of the Year and a regular in USGA competition, is not only the defending champion in this division, but also won the senior title in 2016. He won the championship division in 1999.

The divot tells the story of the conditions at Harding Park (Mike Benham photo)

Haag topped qualifying on Tuesday with a 5-under 67 that left him five shots ahead of the next-best player.

In addition to Haag’s large winning margin in the Round of 32 matches, Terry Foreman also got by Steve Hoyt by a 6-and-5 margin on the bottom of the bracket. Foreman is the No. 6 seed.

Jeff Britton defeated Mike Mangan, 1 up. He will face off against Jim Knoll in the Round of 16 after Knoll took down Greg O’Malley, 5 and 4, in an upset victory. Knoll was the No. 21 seed while O’Malley was the No. 12 seed.

In one of the better comeback victories of the day, Thomas Beer was 2 down on the 16th tee before winning that hole, then knocking his second shot on No. 18 to within 10 feet for a “gimmie” to send it to the 19th hole. Beer ended up winning there.

Matches will resume on March 9.