TPC Harding Park will also stage the 2020 PGA Championship and the 2025 Presidents Cup.
So how in the name of Venturi
and Miller did this happen? Start with the image of those tire
tracks on Harding’s raggedy fairways, circa ’98. The subsequent resurrection of the city’s prized municipal layout, envisioned and executed by former USGA president Sandy Tatum, gave the PGA Tour a tangible reason to rediscover the Bay Area. The tour’s return to Harding,
for the WGC American Express Championship in October 2005 (Tiger Woods defeated John Daly in a playoff ), put San Francisco back on the radar. Golf industry leaders soon realized the thirst Bay Area fans have for the game. They might not all traipse to Pebble Beach for the AT&T National Pro-Am every February, but they’ll stream into the City to see big-time events. “What happened, clearly, is the
Tour had lost its connection with the Bay Area,” Tatum said. “This was a revival. The Tour got another look at the market and all the factors that could make it so good. They’ve really taken on
the project of utilizing it as effectively as possible. The Bay Area is a very impres- sive and distinctive golf market.” He’s right, of course—the region seeps with history. San Francisco alone boasts four major champions on the men’s side (Venturi, Miller, George Archer and Bob Rosburg). Hall of Famer Juli Inkster leads a strong tradition among Bay Area women. Olympic is a mainstay in the U.S. Open rotation as a fi ve-time host. Only Oakland Hills (6), Baltusrol (7) and Oakmont (8) have hosted more to date. Still, few viable venues existed for
regular events, or were willing to host, until Tatum spearheaded the renova- tion of Harding Park (in 2002-03) and convinced PGA Tour commis- sioner Tim Finchem to hop aboard. There were signifi cant economic bumps along the way, but now the tour runs day-to-day operations at Harding—and the success of the AmEx in ’05 and Presidents Cup in ’09 paved the way for this scintillating spring of 2015.
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.
MAJOR EVENTS AT TPC HARDING PARK, LAKE MERCED GC AND THE OLYMPIC CLUB
The Olympic Club U.S. Open – 1955, 1966, 1987, 1998, 2012 U.S. Amateur – 1958, 1981, 2007 The Tour Championship – 1993-1994 U.S. Junior Amateur – 2004 California State Amateur – 2011
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Lake Merced Golf Club San Francisco Women’s Open Match Play Championship – 1941 U.S. Junior Amateur – 1990 California State Amateur – 2009, 2015 U.S. Junior Girls Amateur – 2012 Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic – 2014-2016
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TPC Harding Park San Francisco City Championship – 1917-present Lucky International (PGA Tour) – 1961-1966, 1968 U.S. Amateur Public Links – 1937, 1956 San Francisco Open (PGA Tour) – 1944-1945, 1969 WGC American Express Championship – 2005 The Presidents Cup – 2009, 2025 The Charles Schwab Cup Championship – 2010, 2011, 2013 WGC Match Play Championship – 2015 PGA Championship – 2020
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SPRING 2015 /
NCGA.ORG / 39
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