Knoll, Schroeder to meet in senior final at San Francisco City

A giant in San Francisco City Championship lore fell on Saturday in the semifinals, which opens up an opportunity for another player to find a place for himself in the long-running tournament’s record books. Randy Haag won’t be around to defend his senior title on Sunday after losing to another top NCGA senior, Jim Knoll.

Haag fell relatively quickly on Saturday morning at TPC Harding Park. Knoll took down the top-seeded player by a 5-and-4 margin.

Last fall, Knoll won the NCGA Senior for his ninth career senior NCGA title. It was his first individual victory since the 2017 Sonoma Valley Amateur, and marked a resurgence in his game.

On Sunday, Knoll will face Steve Schroeder in the championship match. Schroeder reached that spot by a much smaller margin, taking down Andrew Gabelman on the 18th hole by a 2-up margin.

Schroeder played the 1989 and 1990 U.S. Open, missing the cut both times, and was runner-up at the 2014 San Francisco City Senior Championship.

The final match of the super senior championship will also be played on Sunday. In that division, Frank Pieper will take on Stuart Francis for the title.