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.

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.”