SAN FRANCISCO TREATS K S C


eventeen years ago, in a symbolic statement of the times, TPC Hard- ing Park temporarily became a parking lot.


Remember that? Spectators attend-


ing the 1998 U.S. Open at the nearby Olympic Club parked their cars on the same fairways where Ken Venturi and Johnny Miller once learned the game. It was the ultimate sign of disrespect, a sad illustration of Harding’s lower- than-low place in the golf galaxy. Boy, how things have changed. San Francisco was an overlooked and underserved golf market back then, mostly ignored by the major tours beyond an occasional Open at Olympic. And now, for a wild two- week stretch this spring, the City by the Bay counts as the game’s stronger- than-strong heartbeat. First there’s Paula Creamer, Lydia Ko and the LPGA at Lake Merced (April 23-26). Then, soon after the fi nal putt drops there, Rory McIlroy and the rest of the world’s best players tee off in the WGC Match Play Championship at Harding (April 29-May 3). And then, as the punctuation mark, the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball makes it debut across the lake at Olympic (May 2-6). Three marquee events at three


prestigious courses, separated by only a few miles and crammed into 14 rollicking days. That’s practically unprecedented, and it’s enough to suddenly and improbably make San Francisco king of the golf world.


38 / NCGA.ORG / SPRING 2015


WITH VISITS FROM THE PGA TOUR, LPGA TOUR AND USGA DURING A TWO-WEEK STINT, ALL GOLF EYES WILL BE ON THE CITY BY THE BAY BEGINNING APRIL 23


2014 Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic champion Lydia Ko is


now the No. 1-ranked female golfer in the world.


Tiger Woods and John Daly found themselves in a playoff for the 2005 WGC American Express Championship at TPC Harding Park.


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PHOTOS: AP


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