38th NCGA Amateur Stroke Play Championship | Poppy Hills GC | July 6-8, 2018
2017 champion Daniel Connolly
First played in 1944, the NCGA Stroke Play Championship has a special history, as the tournament has been won by the likes of Ken Venturi and Johnny Miller. But the event was cancelled in 1966 when the NCGA decided to add the now-popular Four-Ball Championship.
The original championship was played over 72 holes, while the renewed format which began in 2004, is a 54-hole event staged at Poppy Hills every year. During the Poppy Hills renovation in 2013, the championship was held at Bayonet/Black Horse GC in neighboring Seaside.
Kevin Lucas and Ben Geyer share the 54-hole tournament record with a score of 11-under-par 205. Lucas posted his 54-hole winning score in 2010 at Poppy Hills GC, while Geyer fired his 205 total in 2013 at Bayonet GC. Talbert Smith has won the championship more than any other player, four times, in 1946, ’48, ’56 and ’57. Other multiple winners include Ken Venturi (’51 and ’52), Verne Callison (’58 and ’59), Scott Hardy (’04, ’11), Ben Geyer (’12 and ’13) and Robby Salomon (’15 and ’16).
Kevin Lucas and Jonathan De Los Reyes share the record for low round since the tournament was re-established in 2004 with 65’s. De Los Reyes’ 65, shot in 2015, set a course record at the time at Poppy Hills.
The sterling silver perpetual trophy was donated by the San Francisco Examiner in 1944.
Qualifying Information
ENTRIES CLOSE: May 25, 2018
Qualifying for the 2018 Amateur Stroke Play Championship takes place June 15 at the following courses:
Foxtail GC | Haggin Oaks GC | Metropolitan GL | Paradise Valley GC | San Juan Oaks GC
The event is open to all players with a handicap index of 5.4 or less.
Format: 18 holes qualifying. 156 players (including exempts) will advance to the championship. Championship play is 54 holes of stroke play (18 holes per day). After 36 holes the field will be cut to 40 players and ties.
All players must qualify except the following: All past champions prior to 2004 (beginning in 2004, this is a 10-year exemption) and the top 10 and ties from the preceding year, players who reached the quarter-finals of the Amateur Match Play of the preceding year and the following current NCGA champions: Public Links, Senior, Junior, Master Division, Valley Amateur and Valley Senior Amateur. Players who reached the quarterfinals of the CGA in the previous year are also exempt. Exemptions are also granted to the top 15 players on the preceding year’s final NCGA Points List. Each exempt player is required to submit an entry prior to the closing date. Amateur Stroke Play Exemptions
Never played in an NCGA event before? Visit the Tournament Registration page for instructions on how to register.
Tournament Recaps
Albeit he had a comfy five-shot lead entering the final round, San Francisco resident Daniel Connolly told himself otherwise. “I convinced myself that I was two back,” Connolly said. “The most important thing was not to play
defense, and to not second guess myself.” Connolly didn’t shoot in the 60’s again, but an even-par 71 was easily good enough for Connolly get what he came for. The 20-year-old Southern Methodist University sophomore claimed his first NCGA title, winning the annual Amateur Stroke Play Championship Sunday at Poppy Hills GC by six shots over runner-up Derek Ackerman. Read Full 2017 Recap | View 2017 Photo Gallery
Coming off consecutive poor showings at the recent North and South Amateur and California Amateur Championships, Robby Salomon wasn’t exactly sure which direction his game was headed. “I kind of let go of a lot of work instructors had me doing,” Salomon said. “I almost re-started golf. I was maybe focusing too much. I told myself to just go out and play.” On Sunday at par-71 Poppy Hills Golf Course, Salomon got everything back in order. Read Full 2016 Recap | View 2016 Photo Gallery
After a three-year drought, Robby Salomon is back in the winner’s circle. Salomon, a 26-year-old senior at CSU-Monterey Bay, avoided disaster for a third straight day, carding a final round 3-under 68 Sunday at par-71 Poppy Hills Golf Course to win the annual NCGA 
Amateur Stroke Play Championship by five shots over runner-up Patrick Soli of San Carlos. For Salomon, it was a testament to patience and determination. Having gone through swing changes, the last time he’d tasted victory was at the 2012 Marin County Amateur. Read Full 2015 Recap | View 2015 Photo Gallery
Following a poor drive on the par-4 16th, Bob Bucey went over to his son Bobby and reminded him, “All it takes is one great shot.” Later, Bobby, a former standout at Chico State, would put his father’s words into action. Bucey hit a perfect 7-iron draw into the middle of the green on the second hole of a sudden death playoff (No.2) that rolled to within two feet of the pin for birdie, clinching a win over Brandon Wu and the title in Sunday’s finale of the annual NCGA Amateur Stroke Play Championship at par-71 Poppy Hills Golf Course. Read Full 2014 Recap | View 2014 Photo Gallery
Ben Geyer did something Sunday that nobody has done in the modern era of the NCGA Amateur Stroke Play Championship. The 21-year-old became the first player to defend his title, winning the 10th annual event by nine strokes with a 54-hole total of 205, 11-under-par at Bayonet GC. Geyer, who held a three-shot lead going into Sunday’s final round after rounds of 70 and 67, fired a 68 on Sunday for a third straight day of under-par golf, routing the rest of the field. Read Full 2013 Recap | View 2013 Photo Gallery
Past Champions
| 1944 | James Molinari at Sharp Park GC |
| 1945 | Earl Stewart at Harding Park GC |
| 1946 | Talbert Smith at Sharp Park GC |
| 1947 | Dick Bailey at Sonoma GC |
| 1948 | Talbert Smith at Sonoma GC |
| 1949 | Eli Bariteau at Peninsula GCC |
| 1950 | Al Frye at Sacramento GC |
| 1951 | Kenneth Venturi at La Rinconada GCC |
| 1952 | Kenneth Venturi at Presidio GC |
| 1953 | William Colm at Del Rio GCC |
| 1954 | Jack Bariteau at San Jose CC |
| 1955 | E. Harvie Ward at Stanford GC |
| 1956 | Talbert Smith at Castlewood CC |
| 1957 | Talbert Smith at Peninsula GCC |
| 1958 | Verne Callison at Silverado CC |
| 1959 | Verne Callison at Orinda CC and Sequoyah CC |
| 1960 | George Archer at California GC and Presidio GC |
| 1961 | Ernest Pieper, Jr. at San Jose CC and La Rinconada CC |
| 1962 | John Lotz at Lake Merced GC |
| 1963 | Stephen Oppermann at Stanford GC |
| 1964 | Johnny Miller at Meadow Club and Peacock Gap GC |
| 1965 | Steve Whitman at Sierra View GC and Sunset Oaks GC |
| 1966 | Jim Wiechers at Sharon Heights GCC and Mira Vista GCC |
| 2004 | Scott Hardy at Poppy Hills GC (73-70-68—211) |
| 2005 | Bob Niger at Poppy Hills GC (75-68-70—213) |
| 2006 | Erick Justesen at Poppy Hills GC (71-71-73—215) |
| 2007 | Casey Boyns at Poppy Hills GC (69-70-75—214) |
| 2008 | Matthew Hollinsead at Poppy Hills GC (67-77-69—213) |
| 2009 | Rick Reinsberg at Poppy Hills GC (67-72-70—209) |
| 2010 | Kevin Lucas at Poppy Hills GC (68-72-65—205) |
| 2011 | Scott Hardy at Poppy Hills GC (71-67-72—210) |
| 2012 | Ben Geyer at Poppy Hills GC (70-71-71—212) |
| 2013 | Ben Geyer at Bayonet GC (70-67-68—205) |
| 2014 | Bobby Bucey at Poppy Hills GC (71-74-74—219) |
| 2015 | Robby Salomon at Poppy Hills GC (70-71-68—209) |
| 2016 | Robby Salomon at Poppy Hills GC (73-72-68—213) |
| 2017 | Daniel Connolly at Poppy Hills GC (68-69-71—208) |