How to watch Masters Tournament, Friday: Leaderboard, tee times, TV times

The locals may object to those who say TPC Harding Park is hosting its first major this week. San Francisco’s municipal gem is home to an important championship on an annual basis, and while the San Francisco City Championship isn’t considered one of golf’s Grand Slam events, it is one of the game’s most unique. The tournament affectionally referred to by locals as simply “The City” has been held every year since 1916. Its endurance through the World Wars allows it to claim the title of golf’s oldest consecutively-played championship. Its former competitors range from World Golf Hall of Famers to taxi drivers, NFL quarterbacks to airport baggage handlers. The doctors and lawyers who are members at the Bay Area’s prestigious clubs play alongside bartenders. It’s not unusual to see a player turn to alcohol to steady his nerves or to witness a former U.S. Golf Association president carry his own clubs through a downpour. San Francisco is a city that prides itself on its diversity. Its amateur golf championship is no different. The tournament, conducted on San Francisco’s public tracks in the wet and cold of Northern California’s winter, attracts only the most passionate participants. “In a lot of ways, it’s golf in its purest form,” said Bo Links, a San Francisco golf historian. “(The City) determines who has heart and grit and determination.” San Francisco’s golf heritage is underappreciated, often overshadowed by its neighbors to the south, who are the beneficiaries of interminable sunshine. But the City by the Bay can boast of major champions and world-famous courses, as well. Harding Park, Olympic Club and San Francisco Golf Club are all within five miles of each other. Olympic has hosted five U.S. Opens. SFGC is an A.W. Tillinghast design that annually ranks among the world’s best courses. And Harding Park was one of the country’s first great municipal layouts. Major champions Johnny Miller, Ken Venturi, George Archer and Bob Rosburg got their start by the Bay. The City has been dominated in recent years not by the working-class folk heroes of the past, but high school and college students. TPC Harding Park’s renovation in 2002 once again made it a TOUR-caliber course after years of neglect. Those two factors have reduced some of The City’s scruffy charm, but it still stays true to its colorful past. The San Francisco City Championship’s greatest moment came in 1956, when the world’s top two amateurs met in the final. Harvie Ward was the reigning U.S. Amateur champion. Less than a month later, Ken Venturi would finish runner-up at the Masters. A final-round 80 left him a shot behind Jack Burke Jr. Newspaper articles estimated that more than 10,000 were in attendance to witness Venturi win, 5 and 4. Venturi’s victory was heralded in bold type atop the San Francisco Chronicle’s front page. Ward would go on to defend his title at that year’s U.S. Amateur, but he wasn’t the champion of San Francisco. Archer, the 1969 Masters champion, also is a past City champion. Miller and Tom Watson, a Stanford alum, competed in the tournament, but never won it. Juli Inkster, a seven-time LPGA major champion, won the women’s division twice. The City’s charm is not in the Hall of Famers who once competed, but the wide swath of the population who play alongside them. Frank Mazion, a 6-foot-3 baggage handler at San Francisco International Airport embodied the blue-collar contingent that makes up a large part of The City. He won the City in 1979 and 1983. In addition to scratch flights for men, women and seniors, there are multiple net flights for higher-handicap players. Hundreds participate each year. Mazion befriended John Brodie, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who later played PGA TOUR Champions, after beating him in The City in 1974. “Mazion looks like he could have run interference for Brodie, or better yet, caught a lot of passes during a long National Football League career,” the Milwaukee Journal wrote in 1977, when Mazion was playing the U.S. Amateur Public Links there. “His golf clubs look like toys in his hands.” The friendship between Mazion and Brodie, forged at The City, is testament to the tournament’s diversity. Riveters, roofers and cops are among the tournament’s past champions. Stephen Molinelli’s opponent in the 1993 semifinals was a man nicknamed “Scarecrow.” “He played in overalls, a flannel long-sleeve shirt and a straw hat. And he beat me,” said Molinelli, a former Olympic Club champion. “That’s the greatness of The City Championship.” Nick Ushijima, the 2000 champion, was driving to the tournament when he saw a man riding a Harley-Davidson, his golf clubs strapped to his back, headed in the same direction, presumably en route to the same destination. Ushijima also recalls seeing Sandy Tatum, the former USGA president who spearheaded Harding Park’s revitalization, carrying his bag through the rain. Jim Williams, a former member of the USGA Executive Committee, won the senior title in 2012 and 2014. “Sandy Tatum is a member at Cypress Point, a Rhodes Scholar, a lawyer, a partner at one of the top firms in San Francisco. It’s raining cats and dogs and he’s qualifying for the championship flight. That’s how much the tournament means to people,” Links said. Players used to sign up at the Roos Atkins on Market Street when the department store was the tournament’s sponsor. John Abendroth, who competed in a handful of PGA TOUR events in the 1970s, remembers sleeping overnight outside the store to ensure his spot in the field. Two rounds of stroke play winnow the championship flight to 64 players who compete in match play. Play is only conducted on Saturday and Sunday, so the tournament takes place over four weekends. Players must keep their game in shape for a month, with a five-day hiatus between matches. The semifinals and finals, which are both played on the final weekend, used to be 36-holes apiece. There isn’t time for weather delays because of the large field and firm schedule. Northern California’s storms rarely carry lightning, so players trek through even the heaviest rain to complete their rounds. The pre-renovation Harding Park often couldn’t handle the precipitation so finding relief from casual water wasn’t always an option. Chipping over puddles on the putting surface wasn’t out of the ordinary. “You’re not playing in (those conditions) in a PGA TOUR or USGA event,” said Randy Haag, the 1999 champion. “Forget about an umbrella. It’s not going to do any good.” He remembers especially severe weather while competing in a playoff for medalist honors. Harding Park’s first hole is approximately 360 yards, but with a 30-mph wind blowing rain sideways into his face, he hit driver and 3-wood short of the green, then got up-and-down for par and the win. Temporary greens were often used when greens were flooded. The temporary surfaces were simply holes cut into the fairway, though. There were no guarantees on those makeshift surfaces. “Every putt was an adventure,” Links said. One past participant remembers eight temporary greens being used in one round. Lincoln Park, the other course used for the tournament’s stroke-play portion, is a quirky layout that adds character to the tournament. It also offers one of the best panoramas in golf. Whereas Harding Park is slated to host a major, Lincoln Park is a short layout known for its sharp doglegs and small greens. For all its modesty, it also has one of the best views in golf. The 17th tee overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge. Lincoln Park is just 5,146 yards and plays to a par of 68, but it isn’t uncommon to see players shoot a higher score there than at Harding Park. The tight fairways, tough lies, long par-3s and the course’s condition all make it more difficult than the scorecard would imply. “You have to waltz around Lincoln,” Haag said. “You can’t get too freaked out when you do bogey one of those easy holes, because it’s definitely going to happen.” Players had to overcome similar conditions before the renovation that turned TPC Harding Park into a major championship venue. The course was used a parking lot for the 1998 U.S. Open. Dandelions and weeds overran parts of the fairways. Ushijima once accidentally kicked his ball while searching for it in the fairway because his ball was camouflaged by the small, white flowers. Overcoming these myriad challenges was a source of pride for The City’s players, though. “If you won The City, you earned it,” said six-time champion Gary Vanier. And added your to a winner’s list that included everyone from baggage handlers to major champions.

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Imagine taking on Justin Thomas down the stretch at East Lake for the FedExCup. What about trying to outduel Tony Finau as you hit the stadium hole at TPC Scottsdale with thousands of fans screaming for action. Ever wanted a round at Riviera Country Club with Bryson DeChambeau or a veteran like Ian Poulter or Jim Furyk? Or maybe you fancy yourself the next Alister Mackenzie, Pete Dye or Ben Crenshaw of course design? All of these scenarios and more come to life in the new PGA TOUR 2K21 video game set to launch on August 21 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox One X, PC, Nintendo Switch and Stadia. Game developers HB Studios have put together a serious upgrade on the previous iteration, known as The Golf Club 2019, teaming with 2K and the PGA TOUR to bring to market a game that screams to both the arcade-style casual player and the hardcore golf superfan. While TPC Sawgrass, TPC Boston, TPC Deere Run, TPC Scottsdale, TPC Southwind, TPC Summerlin and Atlantic Beach Country Club return in this edition now you can show off your skills at Riviera, the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, East Lake, Quail Hollow, TPC Louisiana, TPC River Highlands, TPC San Antonio and TPC Twin Cities. And chances are a few more will join the stable soon after release via updates. “Our goal is to make the PGA TOUR 2K21 in-game, licensed, real-life course recreations as detailed as possible, so it feels like you’re actually playing the course alongside top PGA TOUR pros,” HB Studios senior producer Shaun West said. “To see professionals play these courses on TV, and then watch each come to life as playable courses within the game is an incredibly cool process to see, and we’re excited for our fans to be able to experience it as well.” You’ll take them all on in career mode, starting as a rookie on the Korn Ferry Tour who needs to find his way to promotion. The you will try your luck against a stable of PGA TOUR stars led by former FedExCup champion and world no.1 Thomas in a 30 event season. DeChambeau is going to rip it long, even though his avatar doesn’t have the bulk the six-time TOUR winner has put on lately. His body scans were done before his power lifting and weight training efforts – but that’s not to say he won’t be adjusted in the future. “It’s a good thing we have contacts on the WWE side, maybe we can borrow some of their body types as he has gotten considerably thicker,” Josh Muise, creative director at HB Studios joked. “When we scanned Bryson he was a very different size then he is now and full credit to Bryson for putting in all the extra hard work during the lull of the season. It’s a unique one that landed on our plates and we will do our absolute best to play catch up if we need to.” If it’s bulk you like you can use it when you build your own player in great detail, combing through apparel from licensed sponsors to find your perfect look. You can also customize your clubs but all options bring balance in some way. Max out in one space, you’ll lose out elsewhere. So consider who you really want to be. Will you be a power hitter who gives up accuracy but is constantly hitting bombs or will you put a premium on fairways and be one of the sports premier ball-strikers who isn’t fazed by being out-muscled off the tee? Perhaps your bread and butter will be on and around the greens. Professional commentator Luke Elvy and former PGA Championship winner Rich Beem will call the action throughout your career and the six difficulty settings mean you can take things easy and just swing away or test yourself down to the nitty gritty parts of golf. Shape the ball, deal with loft and angles, react to the lie, create specific spin and work on taking a little off or adding a little more with partial shots. The course design option is second to none. You’ll have all the tools the developers did at your disposal to build your dream course and once completed they can be uploaded to be played by all players across all platforms. It is user-generated courses from this feature that supplement the TOUR courses throughout the game. Developers picked their favorites from the last version of the game and added them to the stable. Of course as users get busy with all new assets things are going to get even better in PGA TOUR 2K21. Want 18 island greens? Go for it. Crocodile infested lakes? Sure. Snow on one hole, sun the next… why not. Want to try to replicate your local course? Have a crack at it. Others might have already done the hard work for you… and let’s just say there are some major recreation efforts in there. You can start your own or join an online society and play competitively against others from across the globe. Want to find the best player in your extended family… set up your own schedule and get going. Of course you can still take on your friends in all sorts or one off modes as well. Stroke play, match play, stableford, skins, alternate shot and now four player Scramble… set it up, grip it, and rip it. If you pre-order https://pgatour.2k.com/buy before the 21st you’ll also receive some custom adidas swag for your player – a signal green and core black look featuring adidas CodeChaos BOA golf shoes, and custom 2K/adidas CodeChaos polo, pants and hat, designed by adidas, exclusively for PGA TOUR 2K21.

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Bryson DeChambeau will defend his title at next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard after missing multiple starts this year because of injury. “It’s important to Bryson to try and defend at an event that has Arnold Palmer’s name on it, so he’s doing everything in his power to play,” DeChambeau’s agent, Brett Falkoff, said. “He’ll continue to rehab over the next few days and without any setbacks, we’re hopeful he’ll be able to compete next week.” After withdrawing from last week’s The Genesis Invitational, DeChambeau tweeted that he was rehabbing “a hip and hand injury.” He said he was making “positive progress” on the injury. Last year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard was DeChambeau’s eighth PGA TOUR victory. He closed with 12 consecutive pars to shoot a final-round 71 and win by one shot over Lee Westwood. DeChambeau’s last birdie of the final round at Bay Hill came on the par-5 sixth hole, which was the site of his memorable tee shots on the weekend. He hit drives of 370 and 377 yards in each of the last two rounds, cutting the corner on the curving par-5 to leave himself less than 90 yards for his second shot each day. “The thrill of the drive on No. 6 was one of the highlights … of my career,” DeChambeau said earlier this year. “The energy from the fans, the positive support I received from having some fun on that hole was really special to me. “Winning Mr. Palmer’s tournament was such an honor for me as I’ve loved and respected Mr. Palmer for so many years. He was and still is an idol of mine today.”

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