The victory at the 53rd Annual Canasawacta Country Club Men’s Member-Guest golf tournament for Tim Carson and Scott Seiler was not only sweet for the longtime pair, but also “golden.”
The win came 50 years removed from Carson’s father Bill’s title in ‘61 when the tournament was in its third year. The triumph ended a series of near-misses in which the duo had four runner-up finishes in five years. “It was definitely a long road with a lot of second-places,” Carson said in an interview earlier this week. “The weather (last year) kind of threw a kink into things, and there were some other things to think about as we were trying to make golf swings. My partner was incredibly consistent down the stretch. I think he was more determined than anyone to get the victory.”
Carson and Seiler open defense of their title today with shotgun starts at 8 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The tournament boasts an incredibly deep field that will likely leave some talented teams out of the eight-team championship flight. Champions from the four years preceding the Carson-Seiler title are also bidding for glory late Saturday afternoon when the final groups make their way down the back nine.
“I remember saying the year before how impressive the field is, and fact is, a solid dozen teams could easily win this thing,” Carson said. “The talent this tournament is drawing is quite impressive, and there are a lot of good players out there. It’s nice to be defending it, but that’s not foremost on my mind. The first goal is to just get into the championship flight with all those great players out there.”
Among the top contenders are 2010 champions Bryan Smith and Todd Seiler; 2009 winners Lee Skillin and Jim Gorski; 2008 victors Bob Branham and Mike Branham; and 2007 top dogs Tim Mirabito and Ken Stewart Jr. Also among the alumni of past champions are Doug Wilson-Joe Gutosky Jr.; and Mark DeMellier-George Gelsomin. Others in the field with championship hardware are Brian Loomis, who won the last of his four titles with Christian Brown about a decade ago, and Tom Ryan, who teamed with Matt Ryan in 2006 to stage one of the great final-round comeback victories.
“The field is strong again, and it always draws the most competitive players in the area,” said C.C.C. head professional Charley Winn. “Now the tournament is drawing some top guys from outside the area, and there are some good players who used to be members here that are coming back. It’s definitely the strongest field I have seen in my four years here.”
Dry conditions most of the summer have made the course play a little shorter, but the recent rainfall earlier may be just enough to set up a longer, softer layout. Also a consideration for players this year is a new look to the sign-off hole at the course, the short par-four 18th hole that is easily driveable for the longer ball strikers.
Because of its length and less-than-penal nature for wayward shots, the 18th hole has led to some signature moments over the years. Anyone within a couple of strokes of the lead has had little to worry about in attempting to drive the green. Earlier this year, Winn, Carson (CCC’s owner), and course superintendent Deneen Ziegler made a significant change around the 18th hole, all in an effort to make the hole a little more challenging.
