Tournament Overview

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Once the number of entries for the Men's Championship reaches 120 players (including spots held for exempt players), all additional entrants will enter the pre-qualifier as described below. We anticipate 12 or more positions in the weekend qualifying field to be available for pre-qualifiers. The exact number will be available on March 7 before teeing off.

MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION PRE-QUALIFIER
Open to players with a handicap index of 6.4 or lower as of the entry date.

Those entering pre-qualifying will pay an entry fee of $165 for the pre-qualifier to be held at Lincoln Park. Those advancing from the pre-qualifier will pay the remainder of the Men's Championship entry fee ($230; it must be paid prior to playing) and will play in the 36-hole stroke play qualifier at TPC Harding Park and Lincoln Park, from which the low 64 will then advance to the match-play phase of the men’s championship.

A schedule of all dates of play can be found on the tournament website sfgolfchampionship.com.

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, and those players will be charged the remainder of the Men's Championship entry fee.

WITHDRAWALS AND REFUND POLICY
Players needing to withdraw should do so by filling out the form at sfgolfchampionship.com/contact/ . Players withdrawing before the entry deadline of February 18 will receive a refund of their entry fee minus $50. There will be no refunds after the entry deadline.

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, 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.

Course

Tournament News

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  Barret Dowling, Giulio Zanichelli are flawless in San Francisco City pre-qualifier
  Mar 08, 2024 - The pair matched bogey free rounds of 6-under 66 at Presidio Golf Course, a 7-for-4 playoff determined the last spots

by Pete Wlodkowski

The San Francisco City Championship was inaugurated in 1917, and is the Country's oldest municipal golf tournament. The Women's division was added in 1958. In its early years, the tournament was hosted by the Sun-Bulletin newspaper and has had numerous sponsors throughout its history such as Bob Varner, Tom Culligan, and Pepsi.

The name of the tournament is deceiving, as the field is typically made up of the best amateurs from throughout Northern California. As a matter of fact, the 1999 field included Mark Murphy of Waterville, Ireland, who made it to the quarterfinals before being ousted in a nail-biter by Gary Vanier. (Vanier eventually lost to Randy Haag in what was called the best final since Ken Venturi beat Harvey Ward in 1956 in front of 12,000 fans.)

Another thing that makes the City Championship a unique event is the inclusion of an "Open" Division, allowing for amateurs of varying abilities to compete. The top two flights in the Open Division, named the "Venturi" and "Susko" respectively, are named for two of the tournaments' most popular competitors, Ken Venturi and John Susko, the latter of whom met an untimely death from Crohn's disease in 1983. Susko is remembered as a popular Lincoln Park golfer who won the City Championship in 1978 and 1980, won the Alameda Commuters in 1981, and participated in a number of National amateur events even with a condition that often sidelined him for weeks at a time.

Those familiar with the City Championship will tell you about the tradition of playing the ball as it lies at San Francisco's Lincoln and Harding Park golf courses in some often very wintry conditions. More than one player has marched in to the tournament office claiming that they will never play again, but their applications usually find their way in the following year. Conditions are the same for everyone; the ability to accept the occasional bad break is paramount to a competitor's success.

Past champions include 1964 US Open Champion Ken Venturi, 1999 US Women's Open Champion Julie Inkster, and 1969 Masters Champion George Archer. More recently, LPGA Tour player Dorothy Delasin* of Daly City (winner of the 1998 US Junior Girls Championship and 1999 US Women's Amateur) claimed the Women's City Championship in 1998.