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Match Play Challenge

Both Individual and Four-Ball formats returning for 2026, with the addition of a Women's bracket!

Both Individual and Four-Ball formats returning for 2026, with the addition of a Women’s bracket!

In 2025, we got a total of 384 entries in the Individual Match Play Challenge and 128 teams in the Four-Ball Match Play Challenge. The final two players in the Individual and two teams in the Four-Ball battled it out at The Olympic Club Lake Course. The Individual Final Match made it to the 18th hole with Bill Villareal winning the match 2 up over Bowen Wiest. The Four-Ball Final Match ended 5 & 4 with the team of Shawn Andrade and Matt Howard winning the match against the team of Matt Gilchrist and William Alexander. Thank you to all of the players who participated in 2025! A link to photos of the Final Round at Olympic Club are below.

The NCGA Match Play Challenge will be returning for 2026 with both the Individual and Four-Ball formats! An addition for 2026 will be a Women’s Match Play Challenge! Players will be allowed to sign up for both the Individual and Four-Ball brackets; Women may sign up for all three. A player that makes the Quarterfinals in multiple brackets will choose which bracket to continue in. Whether you wish to sign up by yourself or with a friend (or both!), you will be able to register until March 29, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT. Links to registration for each format are below.

How it Works

Once registration closes, a single elimination bracket will be created. Participants will be grouped by their preferred bracket location and their handicap. Change for 2026: Depending on registration numbers, the Individual Match Play Challenge will be separated into 2-3 separate competitions based on Handicap Index. The bracket will be sent out during the week before the first-round matches begin. Players will be given a timeframe for each round to schedule and play their match against their opponent. Please see Tentative 2026 schedules for each format on their respective Tournament Pages. The matches will be played as net match play.

The two players (or teams) will agree on the date and course to play within the given timeframe for each round.  Green fees will be the responsibility of the players. They will keep progressing through the bracket until they reach the Quarterfinals.

The Quarterfinals through the Final rounds will be scheduled in October and November and expenses will be covered by the NCGA.

Courses for the Quarterfinals through Finals are in the process of being scheduled. In addition to Olympic Club where the Finals were played in 2025, the Quarterfinals were played at Silverado Resort and the Semi-Finals were played at Pasatiempo GC.

Registration opened on December 1, 2025 at 8:00 am PT and close March 29, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT or once the tournament is full. Players on the waitlist will still have a chance to be added if the waitlist reaches a certain number to evenly add more players to the bracket. Players on the waitlist are not charged until they are added to the event.