The Championship
A public championship, run the hard way.
Stroke-play qualifying into single-elimination match play, contested across two of the country's great municipal courses each March. This is how the City is won.
Format
Qualify, then survive.
The marquee Men’s Championship opens with 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying — one round at TPC Harding Park, one at Lincoln Park — from a field of 168. The low 48 advance: the top 32 into the Championship bracket, the next 16 into the Venturi Flight. From there it is single-elimination match play over the following weekends, culminating in a 36-hole final.
Every other division follows the same spirit at its own scale — an 18-hole qualifier seeding a bracket — while the Open flights are seeded strictly by Handicap Index and begin directly with match play, in flights named for the City’s legends. Carts are prohibited for players and caddies in the Men’s Championship.
Divisions & Entry Fees
Find your division
Every entry fee includes green fees at the championship venues.
Men's Championship
Venturi Flight168 in qualifying · 48 to match play
Eligibility. Amateurs of all abilities from November 1; an NCGA points event with 50 exempt places for past champions, top-ranked NCGA players and AmateurGolf.com Winter Tour finishers. A separate Pre-Qualifier is open to index 4.0 and below.
Format. 36-hole stroke-play qualifier (18 at TPC Harding Park, 18 at Lincoln Park). Low 48 advance — top 32 to the Championship bracket, 33–48 to the Venturi Flight. Match play is single-elimination; the final is contested over 36 holes. Carts are prohibited for players and caddies.
Women's Championship
Inkster FlightFirst 84 entries
Eligibility. Open to women amateurs of all abilities. No handicap required.
Format. 18-hole stroke-play qualifier. Low 16 to the Championship bracket, 17–32 to the Inkster Flight. Single-elimination match play; 36-hole final.
Men's Senior Championship
First 84 entries · 32 to match play
Eligibility. Men 55 and over with a Handicap Index of 9.4 or lower.
Format. 18-hole stroke-play qualifier; low 32 advance to single-elimination match play.
Men's Super Senior
First 48 entries · 16 to match play
Eligibility. Men 65 and over with a Handicap Index of 9.4 or lower.
Format. 18-hole stroke-play qualifier; low 16 advance to single-elimination match play.
Women's Senior
Field varies
Eligibility. Women 50 and over. No handicap required.
Format. 18-hole stroke-play qualifier seeding a match-play bracket.
Open Flights
First 128 entries
Eligibility. Open to all handicap levels. Flighted by Handicap Index.
Format. Seeded strictly by Handicap Index and begun directly as single-elimination match play, in named flights.
Venues
Two courses, a century of the City
The championship is played where San Francisco golf began — and where it still lives, on public land above the Pacific.
TPC Harding ParkTPC Harding Park
Primary championship venueOpened July 18, 1925 · Par 72 · 7,169 yards
Laid out along the shores of Lake Merced and named for President Warren G. Harding, the course opened in 1925 to the same design partnership — Willie Watson and Sam Whiting — behind the Olympic Club's Lake Course next door.
Lincoln Park Golf CourseLincoln Park Golf Course
Original venue · qualifying & Open flightsOpened 1902 (City play from 1916) · Par 68 · 5,416 yards
The championship's birthplace. Perched on the bluffs above the Golden Gate, Lincoln Park wraps around the Palace of the Legion of Honor with the bridge filling the horizon from the 17th tee — arguably the finest view in municipal golf.
2027 Schedule
Championship week by week
All divisions, qualifying through the finals. Tee times and pairings are posted to Results as the draw is set.
Friends of the City
A championship this old stays affordable only on purpose.
Gifts from players, families and local businesses keep entry fees within reach and the oldest championship in golf on the tee every March.