TPC Harding Park: The king of match play courses?

SAN FRANCISCO - TPC Harding Park always seems to turn the major professional events it hosts into match-play showdowns.

That legacy will only grow with the 2023 LPGA Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown on tap for May 4-7 at the "super muni" run by San Francisco Recreation and Parks. Isn't it time to give TPC Harding Park its due? It's arguably the king of all public courses when it comes to match play.

The LPGA Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown - a unique women's match-play version of a Presidents Cup - features 32 players from eight different countries all vying to "crown" their nation as champions. TPC Harding Park should prove to be a perfect venue for one of golf's most intriguing up-and-coming tournaments. The routing has been adjusted - notably the famous lakeside 18th now plays as the 14th so most matches will see that demanding hole.

"It’s a great match play course and I’d say hosting both the 2009 Presidents Cup and 2015 WGC Match Play and now the 2023 LPGA Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown are testament to that," noted Tom Smith, the course's general manager. "Also, the ability to reroute the course from the normal daily-play routing enables the tournament officials to mix in good challenges and rewarding holes in different strategic points during the round. So, the risk-reward holes we're known for are spread more evenly throughout the course. This provides a player the opportunity to have a come-from-behind victory or, conversely, lose a healthy lead. Translation, don’t count anyone out regardless of how many holes they have left because the course provides opportunity."

TPC Harding Park has a nearly two-decade history of hosting prestigious events since its major rebirth following a restoration/renovation in 2002-03. That pedigree includes two designated match play events and two that became match play duels of sorts.

The 2005 WGC-American Express Championship turned into a two-man spectacle when Tiger Woods chased down leader John Daly in regulation and outlasted him in a playoff. Just four years later at the 2009 President's Cup, a United States team, headlined by Woods and Phil Mickelson, cruised past the International team, 19 1/2 to 14 1/2. In 2015, Rory McIlroy plowed through the field to win the WGC Cadillac Match Play before it moved to Austin Country Club for a seven-year run that ended earlier this year.

And who can forget the course's first major championship, when Collin Morikawa outlasted 10 players who held at least a share of the lead during the final round of the 2020 PGA Championship. It was like he was playing match play against contenders Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Jason Day, Paul Casey, Tony Finau and Bryson DeChambeau all at once.

This is the first major women's event for TPC Harding Park, which didn't survive a winter of atmospheric rivers unscathed. It lost roughly 30 trees and even more branches, giving the course a slightly more open feel than in the past. For example, the famous short par-4 16th - where Morikawa hit driver onto the green to make eagle in 2020 - lost a few tree limbs protecting the right side of the fairway.

The course's mowing lines, altered roughly five years ago in advance of the 2020 PGA Championship, still keep players honest with narrow, twisting fairways guarded by healthy rough and hundreds of towering Monterey Cypress trees.

The course is a pleasant walk but an exacting test, especially the holes along Lake Merced on the back nine.

Many golf fans still aren't familiar with the International Crown because it hasn't been held in five years. This is only its fourth edition since launching in 2014 at the Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland, when the Spanish team won. The four-women U.S. team captured the 2016 edition in Illinois but finished in a tie for second in 2018 behind host South Korea. The 2020 event was canceled due to the pandemic.

The Americans - with individual world rankings adding up to just 34 - are the team to beat on paper this year, especially considering the home-soil advantage. Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson, Lilia Vu and Danielle Kang will face stiff competition from the Republic of Korea; all four players sit inside the top 25 in the world rankings. Japan, England, Sweden, Thailand, Australia and China round out the field.

Because of its match-play format and international flavor, the event should be great for spectators. There will be a patriotic fever similar to a Solheim Cup. Chants of "U-S-A, U-S-A" will be heard throughout the weekend if the Americans play well.

The competition will feature four-ball matches on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The top two countries from each pool will advance to Sunday. Two semifinal matches will be played Sunday morning. Each semifinal match will consist of two singles matches and one foursomes match. The winning semifinal countries will compete in the final match on Sunday afternoon, while a third-place match will take place between the two losing semifinal countries. Both final matches will use the same format as the semifinals.

General Admission tickets start at $60, and all juniors 17 and under will receive complimentary access to the tournament grounds with a ticketed adult. Additionally, complimentary access is given to Active Duty, Military Retirees, Active Reserve, National Guard and First Responders. The International Pavilion is a climate-controlled, open-air seating area that will offer elevated views of the 12th hole with views of Lake Merced.

For those of you at home, TV coverage will be live on NBC and GOLF Channel from 3-6 p.m. (Pacific) all four days.