Stirring back nine comeback gives Branhams C.C.C. title

FLIGHT WINNERS – Above are the championship partners by flight from the 50th Annual Canasawacta Country Club Men’s Member-Guest Tournament. In the front from the left are Mark Matott and Richard Lathrop, International; Mike Branham and Bob Branham, Masters; and Bob Tenney along with Tom Driscoll, Bay Hill. In the middle row are Earl Halaquist and Sal Testani, Doral; Tom DiNoto and Tom Muserilli, Heritage; and Memorial flight winners Adam Collins and Lynn Nearing. Standing in the back from the left are Colonial winners Steve Jones and Jim Williams; Westchester champions Terry Hagenbuch and Ed Holmquist; and Kemper victors Kevin Rivenburgh and Gary Muserallo.

NORTH NORWICH – Anyone thinking the Branhams’ time as a Canasawacta Country Club men’s member-guest champion was a thing of the past was most definitely mistaken.

Nowhere near title contention two of the past three years, a brilliant back nine display allowed Bob Branham and son Michael to capture the 50th annual tourney’s top prize here Saturday afternoon edging second-place Tim Carson and Scott Seiler by a stroke.

“I think this kind of validates what we did here in 2004,” Bob Branham said after the victory.

It’s was Bob Branham’s 10th overall C.C.C. member-guest championship, and 10 was indeed the magic number. After the first nine holes on Saturday, Branham and Branham stood at five-under-par – just halfway toward the team’s pre-round goal. “We thought that we needed to get to 10-under-par, and that would give us a chance,” Bob said.

Story Continues Below Adverts

A ho-hum front nine at level par from Branham and Branham – the level-par intact thanks to a clutch up-and-down on number nine by Michael – left the eventual champs four down of Carson-Seiler, three-back of Doug Wilson and Joe Gutosky, and tied with 2007 champions Tim Mirabito and Kenny Stewart. “Carson and Seiler were playing pretty well and had a good front nine, so we felt we needed a 29 on the back nine,” Bob said.

Branham and Branham nearly pulled that off.

Birdies for the Branhams came quickly on the 10th, 11th, and 13th holes to draw to within two shots of Carson and Seiler.

Carson and Seiler seemingly had the Masters Flight far back in their rearview mirror save Wilson-Gutosky, who hung within one shot through the first 11 holes. Bogeys for Wilson-Gutosky on the 12th, 13th, and 15th holes took the second-place squad out of contention as Branham and Branham quietly moved up the leaderboard, and Carson-Seiler held fast to a two-shot lead after 13 holes. Like most objects in one’s rearview mirror, the chasers were closer than they first appeared.

However, the Branhams nearly saw their opportunity at victory vanish on the tricky par-three 14th hole. Mike’s tee shot found the front of the green leaving him a 40-foot, curling putt for birdie, while Bob was above the green with a tough downhill chip. The 14th’s penal nature for errant shots nipped at Bob as he erred too much on the side of caution leaving himself a wickedly difficult 20-foot downhill putt for par. Mike, though, answered his father’s miscalculation with a perfect lag putt and critical par. “Given the situation and the pressure, that was an all-world two-putt,” Bob said of his son. “I think the people who played with us the last three days would tell you how much Michael does for our team. He keeps himself in the holes, and that allows me to be more aggressive.”

The Branhams’ save for par was followed by a Carson-Seiler bogey on 14, so a one-time four-shot deficit four holes earlier was now down to one.

Carson-Seiler had opportunities aplenty to pad their advantage, unfortunately, an 18-foot birdie by Seiler on the 10th hole was the lone red number on the back nine.

Meanwhile, the Branhams seized nearly every opportunity to lower their score. Bob nearly holed his 16th-hole wedge shot from 80 yards out for eagle. Hitting from the left rough, he bounced the ball just short of the green and rolled it to approximately 12 inches for a tap-in birdie to tie the lead. Bob Branham sunk a six-footer for par on 17, and then Bob got up-and-down from the back right sand trap on 18 making a 6-foot right-to-left putt for birdie.

The last putt completed a five-under-par 30 on the back nine, but more importantly it was the first time since the opening round any other duo other than Carson-Seiler had sole possession of the lead.

Carson and Seiler narrowly missed 10-foot birdie attempts on numbers 15 and 16, but showed their steeliness, when, Seiler rolled in a 12-foot par putt on the 224-yard 17th hole. Needing birdie on the final hole to force a tie, Seiler’s 15-foot right-to-left putt hung out on right side, and Carson’s eight-foot right-to-left birdie try just burned the bottom part of the lip.

Perhaps an early summer round in which father and son played a friendly game portended of the team’s improvement and capability of returning to the top spot. “People probably don’t know that Michael beat me head-to-head in a round in June,” Bob said, clearing noting his son’s improved play.

“Yeah, the first – and only time – in 28 years,” chimed in the 28-year-old Michael Branham.

Carson and Seiler wound up nine-under-par for the second straight year, and Wilson-Gutosky and Mirabito-Stewart tied for third at seven-under-par.

Story Continues Below Adverts

Other flight winners: Norwich High School classmates from 1988, Tom Muserilli and Tom DiNoto were the beneficiaries of the pared Masters Flight. Ninth overall in scoring after two rounds and one shot out of the top flight, Muserilli and DiNoto shot a 69 in the final round to finish at even-par overall and win the Heritage by four strokes. … Sal Testani and guest Earl Halaquist finished on top of the Doral edging Pat Ryan and Jason Ryan in a playoff. …Adam Collins and former C.C.C. member Lynn Nearing fired a final-round 71 to rally to top the Memorial by three shots. …Jim Williams and Steve Jones fired a 75 in the final round to outduel Joe Loftus and Brad Hagen by one shot in the Colonial. …Terry Hagenbuch and Ed Holmquist improved their scoring by four shots in each of the second and third rounds to take the Westchester by one shot. …Mark Matott and Rick Lathrop won a jammed International Flight that had the top six teams finish within three shots. …Kevin Rivenburgh and Gary Muserallo trailed by one shot entering the final round of the Kemper, and pulled ahead shooting their tournament-best 78. … Bob Tenney and Tom Driscoll captured the Bay Hill by a tournament-best five strokes shooting an 82 in the final round.

Tournament Results

Top-six finishers by flight, plus ties

Masters

B. Branham-M. Branham 68-67-65-200

Carson-Seiler 65-68-68-201

Wilson-Gutosky 67-67-69

Mirabito-Stewart 72-65-66-203

Skillin-Gorski 70-68-67-205

Burrell-Dawson 70-69-70-209

Bennett-Loomis 69-70-70-209

Hughes-Kelly 70-70-73-213

Heritage