The course was beautiful as always. The greens were as good as they have been in years. The weather ranged from morning overcast to wispy afternoon clouds, with some breeze all day.
In the morning round, San Francisco and North Peninsula high boys and girls teams joined with with First Tee teams from San Francisco and San Jose...
...and a collection of old pros that included long-time San Francisco Club pro Rick Rhodes and his nephew, former PGA tour player Roger Tambellini.
Sharp Park stalwart Ron Saisi brought a team of Cal Club golfers that tied for the morning’s low score of 57 with a team of Peninsula Athletic League golf coaches led by Hillsborough’s Jon Ramirez.
Lowell High’s Stephanie Sunga had two closest-to-the-pin shots, on Holes 8 and 12
Following the midday bar-b-que, the afternoon round featured teams from the Northern California Golf Association, PGA Tour, Northern California PGA, Alister MacKenzie Society, Western States Golf Association, and 18Birdies. Golf Channel commentator Scott Walker joined the fun, along with a team of hickory-shaft golfers led by Peninsula Club’s Gerry Stratford.
The afternoon round’s low scores were posted by the Fandel Retail team. Harding Head Pro Tom Smith had the shot-of-the-day when he holed a pitching wedge for an eagle 2 on the par-4 fourteenth hole.
In addition to the golf and good times, the 2018 Alister MacKenzie Tournament was memorable for previewing the expanded greens at Holes 10 and 18.
Under the supervision of head greenskeeper Kevin Teahan and Sharp Park superintendent Mike Catanzaro, the surrounds will be brought back to puttable greens over a 12-to18-month period.
Finally, a grateful tip of the hat to: Greens Superintendent Michael Catanzaro and his SF Rec and Park Department greenskeeping crew; Mark Duane, Kevin Ramsey, the rest of the staff at Sharp Park Golf Course, Brad Knipstein for sharing the photographs featured here, and State Apparel for the cool #SaveSharpPark tee prize shirts.