Nearly perfect: Burrell and Dawson roll to CCC title

PLYMOUTH – Matt Burrell and Craig Dawson turned out the lights and slammed the door shut on any contenders’ hopes.

 Burrell and Dawson turned in what was likely the closest attempt at perfection in the 56 years of the Canasawacta Country Club Men’s Member-Guest Tournament finishing the three days at 19-under-par, six shots clear of the next-best contender Saturday afternoon.

It was a wire-to-wire performance for the Burrell-Dawson tandem, who completed the 54 holes with 15 birdies, two eagles, and no bogeys.

It is believed the first-ever bogey-free performance in tournament history, and that is a record that will never be broken. “To be honest, I’m as surprised as anyone to be standing up here,” Matt Burrell said during his short awards ceremony speech.

For several years, Burrell and Dawson have entered the tournament to renew a long friendship and enjoy the camaraderie and friendships that complement three days of tournament-tough golf.

An opening-round 63 for Burrell and Dawson set the stage for a dominating performance in which the winners never led by less than three. “We had to stay a little more focused after the first round,” Dawson said.

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“We’re usually at the bottom of the Masters Flight,” Burrell said, adding that his team has never been in contention to win.

“I don’t think we’ve ever shot 4-under-par in one round in this tournament,” Dawson said. “To go 8-under, 4-under, and then 7-under; that’s hard to believe.”

Believe it.

Two-time champions Bob Branham and Mike Branham made a huge charge on the final day shooting the low round of the tournament, a 9-under-par 62 Saturday moving up from a tie for seventh in the Masters Flight to solo second. The Branhams’ final score of 13-under-par 200 matched their winning score from 2008, and it was lowest three-round total of Bob Branham’s career, who has won this tournament a record 10 times. “And we didn’t even get a whiff (of the lead),” Bob Branham said following his round.

Burrell and Dawson simply left no openings for the opposition. Burrell admitted that he probably played his best three rounds in succession in this tournament, and he was brilliant when Dawson faltered.

“On five (Saturday), I was over the green, then chipped it long back over the green,” Dawson said of his last round.

With Dawson in trouble, Burrell faced a 35-foot birdie putt that had significant right-to-left borrow. “That putt probably had at least four feet of break,” Dawson said.

“We were talking about the putt, and to just get it around the hole,” Burrell said.

Burrell did better than close, he buried the putt turning a possible precarious situation into another red number. Following a birdie on nine, Dawson went to his go-to shot on the par-five, dogleg left tenth hole. Dawson hit a high right-to-left shot – with his driver – that left him in striking range of the green. The ideal tee shot on the tenth leaves players with 225 to 250 yards from the hole. Dawson was a mere 100 yards away. He placed his sand wedge on the green, then drained the eagle putt – his second of the week on that hole.

Perhaps the only moment of the week where par was in jeopardy came on the 17th hole – the penultimate of the tournament. Burrell and Dawson each had 10-foot putts for par. After Burrell narrowly missed, Dawson, called “Bubba” by his friends, rolled his par putt dead in the middle.

Dawson birdied the last hole to cap his team’s 7-under-par 64. “I never would have thought we would win this tournament; it wasn’t in the cards,” Burrell said. “All week, we only had four or five putts around 10 feet for par. We were pretty solid.”

“Someone was in the fairway – usually Matt – someone was on the green, and someone was two-putting,” Dawson said. “We just wanted to make pars, and we were fortunate to roll in a few birdies.”

Placing third behind the Branhams was first-year partnership Tom Ryan and Greg Dicks, whose final total of 11-under par equaled the winning score of a year ago.

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In other flights: Mark DeMellier and Scott Seiler, a team forged due to the absence of previous years’ partners, birdied the 18th hole to secure a one-shot victory in the Oakmont Flight over longtime partners Doug Wilson and Joe Gutosky Jr. Both teams shot subpar rounds all three rounds....In the Baltusrol Flight, the father and son team of Chuck Kelly and Jacob Kelly had a sizzling 4-under-par 31 on the back nine to shoot a final-round 69 to top the tandem of David Martin and Todd Seiler by three strokes....Brian Loomis and Regan Smith shaved 11 shots off of their second-round score shooting a 67 on the last day to take the Oakland Hills Flight by three shots over Doug Kelly and his son Ryan Kelly. The Kellys posted their best-ever score of the tournament with a 1-under-par 70 on the last day....Steve Haskins made a triumphant return to the Chenango County area winning the Merion Flight with partner Roger Cook. Haskins, away from Norwich for several decades, posted a back nine one-under par score with Cook to top second-place Nick Brunick and Ryan Brewer by three....David Carson and Tim Clark were hot down the stretch to win a duel in the Winged Foot Flight over equally-hot Aiden Hannan and Doug Coggins by one shot. Carson and Seiler birdied two of their last four holes shooting a one-over-par 72 to edge Hannan and Coggins by one....The father and son team of Tony Porack and Steve Porack, partners for over two decades, captured their first flight title taking the Pebble Beach Flight by one shot over the father-son team of Wayne and Matt Emmons....It was a happy reacquaintance with Canasawacta Country Club for former member Octavio Tirado, who paired with Bill Intres for the victory in the Shinnecock Flight. Tirado, a club member from 1986-1999, meshed well with Intres in this first-time pairing winning a one-hole playoff over runners-up Pat Dowdall and Dave Huhtala....Lou DeMott and Matt Moore, who were unable to play together a year ago, rolled to the largest margin of victory in any of the nine flights shooting a final-round 77 to best second-place Mark McLaughlin and B.J. Jackson by seven strrokes in the Olympic Flight.

Flight scoring

(Top six plus ties)

Masters

M. Burrell-Dawson 63-67-64-194

Branham-Branham 71-67-62-200

T. Ryan-G. Dicks 66-69-67-202

Hughes-Ross 66-71-69-206

Skillin-Gorski 71-63-72-206

P. Brunick-Foote 70-66-71-207

Oakmont

DeMellier-S. Seiler 70-68-69-207

Wilson-Gutosky 69-70-69-208