"San Francisco has a long, rich golf history predating Woods' riveting duel with Daly (ultimately decided on the second playoff hole, when Daly missed a 3-foot par putt). The city's board of supervisors took a significant step toward prolonging the heritage Tuesday, approving an agreement with the PGA Tour to bring the 2009 Presidents Cup and four other tournaments to Harding Park.This means Woods probably will stroll along the picturesque fairways again, trying to keep his ball away from all those towering cypress trees. But it hardly means he is the first elite player to ply his trade in the City by the Bay.
Ben Hogan won a tournament in San Francisco in the 1940s, as did Byron Nelson. The Lucky International, an annual PGA Tour event held at Harding in the '60s, churned out an impressive list of champions with familiar names, from Gary Player, Gene Littler and Billy Casper to native sons Ken Venturi and George Archer.
Venturi, Archer, Johnny Miller and Bob Rosburg -- all major champions -- grew up in San Francisco, cutting their golfing teeth on the same Harding layout where Woods subdued Daly. Across the lake, no farther away than a Long John drive, the Olympic Club has crowned four U.S. Open champions, often in unexpected ways.
Hogan fell in an 18-hole playoff in 1955, stunned by unheralded Iowa club pro Jack Fleck. Arnold Palmer squandered a 7-shot lead on the final nine holes of the '66 Open, ushering Casper toward his playoff victory. Tom Watson had his chance in '87, only to lose by 1 shot to Scott Simpson. Lee Janzen won his second Open in '98 by edging Payne Stewart, who unforgettably stewed after a missed putt on the quick, severely sloping 18th green.
So even if San Francisco has not been a regular tour stop since those Lucky tournaments in the '60s, and even if other cities have collected more attention in the past year for their rich golf histories -- Chicago and Washington (before Woods put a tournament there) bemoaned their places in the rearranged PGA Tour galaxy -- there also is history out West. Woods and Daly merely resurrected it, allowing fans to release years of untapped exuberance."
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