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Visa San Francisco City Championship: On to finals
Hopes to upset former champ Randy Haag
Hopes to upset former champ Randy Haag

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (March 8, 2008)-- The Visa San Francisco City Golf Championship is well-known for pitting up-and-coming golfers against the Bay Area's established veterans, and this year's championship round is no exception, as former champ Randy Haag (1999) takes on Gunn High School junior Martin Trainer.

The fog blew in from the Pacific to produce a classic Harding Park day for golf. While the weather wasn't good, the golf was magnificent. At the end of the morning round, Haag found himself three-down to Cal redshirt junior Kent Yamane. Haag batted on but couldn't make up any ground until Haag won the 29th hole as Yamane bogied, then won the 30th with an eagle-3.

On the 31st, Yamane's drive drifted left, missing the fairway and into heavy rough. Unable to reach the green, Yamane made bogey, squaring the match. Yamane's approach shot to the 32nd hole missed left, short siding him for his third shot. Haag safely in the middle of the green two putted and gained the lead for the first time in the match with a par 4.

The par-4 34th hole was halved at par as Yamane chipped in from the fringe after a poor shot from the left bunker.

On the 35th hole, Yamane was again bunkered as Haag found the middle of the green. After leaving his second shot in the bunker, Yamane had to settle for bogey and could do nothing but watch as Haag two putted for par and the victory.

"Kent was a delight to play with and a great competitor with a big future in golf" said Haag. "In all the years I've played in this tournament I don't think I have seen a better round of golf than the 5-under he turned in this morning."

In the lower bracket, 17 year old St. Mary's-bound Tim Honeycutt and 16-year-old high schooler Martin Trainer fought tooth and nail all day.

At the end of the morning round they were all square with the lead having changed five times. The afternoon brought more of the same with Trainer finally taking a 2-up lead after 32 holes when Honeycutt missed a two-foot par putt on the 30th and bogied the 31st. Honeycutt came back with a birdie on the 33rd to narrow the lead to one.

The 34th was halved with pars. After Trainer's poor chip from the fringe on the 35th leading to a bogey, the match was again all square. Both players hit big drives over the cypress tree guarding the corner of the fairway and were in perfect position for the approach. Honeycutt's shot ended up in the first cut of rough just right of the green. Trainer hit a perfect 5 iron to within 15 feet. When Honeycutt failed to get up and down, Trainer's two putt par sealed the victory.

Tomorrow's final match between 48 year old Haag and 16 year old Olympic Club junior golf team member Martin Trainer promises to be one for the ages. Trainer would be the youngest San Francisco City Champion ever should he triumph over the wily veteran Haag.

"I'm excited to be in this position" said Trainer "I'll just get some rest tonight and see what I can do tomorrow against Randy."

For the full championship bracket, click here.

In the women's flight Jordan Ontiveros, who upset two-time defending champ Diane Kwon in the Round of 16, was topped by Dorothy Schwartz 6 & 5. Schwartz will be met by Emily Childs, who defeated Kelly Wilson 4 & 3.

For the full women's championship bracket, click here.

In the senior flight, Frank Pieper will take on Jim Knoll in the finals. Pieper topped Bob Fleming, while Knoll defeated reigning amateurgolf.com Senior Player of the Year Jay Guerin.

For a look at the senior bracket, click here.

For a look at the brackets of the open flights' John Susko bracket, click here, for the Ken Venture bracket, click here, and for the Harvie Ward bracket, click here.

Thanks to tournament chairman Mike Miller for the story, as well as Kemper Sports and the San Francisco Parks and Recreation Department.

ABOUT THE San Francisco City Men's Championship

>> The weekend qualifier is now closed, except for exempt players. Please email Info@SFGolfChampionship.com to register as an exempt player. Or, you may enter the Pre-Qualifier by clicking the link below>> PRE-QUALIFIER REGISTRATION

TOUR PORTAL (coming soon)

*An NCGA Points Tournament*

**Entry Procedure: Registration opens for all players on October 1. There will be 50 spots held for exempt players under the following categories:

* The past 10 years of the San Francisco City Golf Champions
* 2024 San Francisco City Men’s Championship Match Play Qualifiers
* Top 20 men’s 2023-2024 NCGA Points Lists
* 2024 NCGA Champions (Amateur, Mid- Amateur, Junior)
* The top 3 finishers in each of the 6 AmateurGolf.com Winter Tour events (Dec 2024-Feb 2025)

Registration for exempt players, and for non- exempt players with a handicap index of 6.4 or lower as of the date of entry, opens on October 1 and will remain open until the field limit (120 players including spots reserved for exempt players) is reached. When the field limit is reached, all additional registrants will be entered in the pre-qualifier at Lincoln Park on Friday, March 7, 2025.

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.

Players entering pre-qualifying will pay an entry fee of $165 for the pre-qualifier, and those advancing from the pre-qualifier will pay the remainder of the entry fee (must be paid prior to playing).

The 36-hole match play qualifier will be held March 8-9, 2025, with 18 holes played at TPC Harding Park and 18 holes at Lincoln Park for a combined 36-hole qualifying score.

There will be 156 players in the qualifying round with 64 players advancing to match play. When all qualifying has been completed, the Men’s Championship Flight will consist of 64 contestants. In the event of a playoff to qualify for match play, a player must be present in order to retain his right to participate in the playoff.

Match play will begin on March 15, 2025. All match play for the Championship Flight (Mar 15-16, 22-23) will be held at TPC Harding Park.

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

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.

CART POLICY
The use of carts is prohibited for players and caddies in the Men’s Championship Flight (Appendix I – Local Rule Applies)

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 men’s, 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.

View Complete Tournament Information

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