Carson-Seiler repeat as CCC member-guest champions

PLYMOUTH – It was the birdies in the first two rounds that put Tim Carson and Scott Seiler Sr. in position to win the 54th Annual Canasawacta Country Club Men’s Member-Guest title. One clutch par putt after another on the back nine late Saturday afternoon allowed the defending champions to pull off the repeat victory.

“For whatever reason, this feels better than last year,” Carson said after Saturday’s round. “I almost like not being in the final group. When I heard we weren’t in the last group, I felt better. When we made the turn at 10, I was very relaxed.”

The winning team’s back nine was anything but relaxing for most golfers – unless your name is Scott Seiler.

After Seiler birdied the 10th hole to move his team to three-under par on the day, it was an eight-pack of pars the rest way with half of those knee-knockers that would induce sweat on the brow of any thinking, feeling golfer. “My partner has a steel will,” Carson said. “He has icewater in those veins, he really does.”

Following a perfunctory par on the 11th hole, Seiler came up with the first of his big par putts. Hitting his tee shot to the back of the par-three 12th hole, he had a downhill 40-footer to the flag, and left his first putt 10 feet short. “I was already in for a four, and had no chance at par,” Carson said. “Any putt that goes past the hole is off the green. He put that 10-footer right in the heart.”

Whilst Carson and Seiler were stringing together their pars with three birdies sprinkled in, second-round leaders Bob and Mike Branham were hanging tough, although birdies were tough to come by. After nine holes of play, the Branhams played to 1-under-par, while Carson-Seiler – one shot in arrears starting the final round – had evened the score with a 2-under-par front nine.

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Bob and Mike Branham found themselves trailing for the first time in the tournament after the Carson-Seiler birdie on 10, but had two golden opportunities to steal that stroke back on 11. The father-son twosome each had birdie putts under 10 feet that went just off the mark. Other than a two-putt birdie on the par-five 13th hole, red numbers proved elusive for the two-time champions. Bogeys on the 14th and 17th holes created a two-shot deficit entering the 18th hole, one that was nearly erased. Bob Branham’s bunker shot for eagle on the 18th hole bounced once and just skipped by the edge of the cup.

“We putted for birdie on 17 of 18 holes,” Bob Branham said. “It’s a cruel game sometimes, and how you explain situations like that, I don’t know. It’s a frustrating, fun game, but we had a great week.”

Tim Mirabito and Ken Stewart, tied with Carson-Seiler entering the final round, went out in 2-over-par over the front nine to fall behind by four, but made a brief run with three straight birdies on holes 11, 12, and 13. Despite birdies putts over the final five holes, Mirabito-Stewart made pars the rest of the way to end two shots back.

“Not being in the first group, we were able to disregard everyone else, and I didn’t want to know what anyone else was doing,” Carson said. “We just wanted to go out and make birdies and pars.”

Over the final seven holes, it was the latter – pars – that proved critical. With Seiler in for a bogey on the 14th hole, Carson jarred a lightning-fast downhill par putt. Then, after a pair of routine pars, Seiler’s flatstick came to the forefront. Putting 20 feet downhill for birdie on 17, he left his first putt three feet short. While Seiler was lined up to the putt, Carson walked away momentarily with his back to his partner – feeling the nerves that were apparently absent in his partner. Carson turned around just in time to see Seiler curl the putt into the hole, one that did about a 180-degree trip around the left side before dropping. One hole later, Seiler was again left with a six-footer for par. He calmly knocked the uphill putt straight into the hole.

“You know what, not to brag, but when you’re feeling confident, you stand over a putt and think you’re going to make everything,” Seiler said. “I think that confidence carried over from 17. If I had missed that one, I might have had a different mindset standing over the putt on 18. You just get a lot of confidence after you make a few.”

The two-time defending champions, once rivals in high school – Carson at Norwich and Seiler at Oxford – became the first team in over a decade to repeat as champions. The last team to do it was Brian Loomis and Chris Brown, who dominated the tournament in the last 1990s and early 2000s.

“This tournament has such an incredible atmosphere, and just to be involved with it...” Carson said, who is also president of the club. “I just feel blessed. We have such an incredible staff here from the kitchen staff all the way to the pro shop. Without them taking care of business, I wouldn’t be able to come out here and play.”

Seiler also put the victory in perspective.

“I play in a lot of these tournaments, and the atmosphere here is the best,” he said. “If you don’t have fun in this tournament, there’s something wrong.”

In other flights: Matt Burrell and Craig Dawson, nudged out of the Masters Flight in a tiebreaker, won the Oakmont by three shots over Doug Wilson and Joe Gutosky Jr. Burrell-Dawson made six birdies – three on each nine – shooting a 2-under-par 69...In the Baltusrol, the father-son team of Pat Ryan and Jason Ryan was the lone duo in the flight to shoot under par in nipping John Walton and Lynn Nearing by one. The Ryans, who played the back nine first, came on strong toward the end with four straight threes – three birdies and one par - on holes one through four to pull out the victory...Brett Crandall and Regan Smith, who had double-digit birdies on the week, balanced four birdies against four bogeys to shoot an even-par 71 in winning the Oakland Hills flight by four shots over Paul Eaton and Ken Benjamin. Eaton and Benjamin stayed in the hunt with a pair of eagles. Benjamin holed out from 176 yards for an eagle on the fourth hole, then chipped in for eagle on the short 18th...Doug Georgia and John Ross emerged with a one-shot win in the Merion flight over Lance Yerton and Steve Bennett. Georgia and Ross had two birdies on their card in shooting a final-round 76, while Yerton-Bennett’s 75 in the final round was highlighted by a birdie on the second hole...John “JK” Kelly and Dennis O’Brien made up a two-shot deficit to start the final round firing a 76 to win the Winged Foot flight by one shot. Kelly-O’Brien had a one-over-par 36 on the back nine – eight pars and a bogey – to pick up the win...In the Pebble Beach flight, Kevin Walsh and Jeff Parker rolled to a seven-shot win – the largest of any flight – shooting a final-round 76. Walsh-Parker had birdies on the seventh and tenth holes to highlight the round...Kurt Edwards and Tim Roche, who started the final round with a one-shot lead in the Shinnecock flight, made that one-shot lead hold up edging Harry Gardner and Gary Musarello by one stroke... The Olympic flight was decided by a one-hole playoff as Randy Manwarren-Lee Supensky topped Mark McLaughlin and B.J. Jackson. After Jackson lipped out his bogey putt from eight feet, Manwarren two-putted for bogey from six feet to give his tandem the win.

Scoring By Flight

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(Top-six plus ties)

Masters

Carson-S. Seiler 65-68-68-201

Branham-Branham 64-68-70-202

Mirabito-Stewart 68-65-70-203

B. Smith-T. Seiler 67-69-68-204

Ju. Bennett-D. Cappadonia 68-69-70-207

Skillin-Gorski 72-66-71-209

Loomis-Schaffner 66-70-76-212

Rhodes-McClymonds 67-70-WD