CLAYVILLE – Norwich resident Bob Branham closed the 58th Annual New York State Senior Amateur Golf Tournament with a 2-under-par 70 to finish third overall Thursday at The Cedar Lake Club.

Branham totaled 223 – 7 over par – over the 54-hole event, four shots behind the winner, Frank Plata, and one shot behind Jim Mueller.

"I've been coaching all of these years and the tournament is always held in September,” Branham said Thursday night. “So I didn’t have a chance to play in the tournament until this year.”

The slope and speed of the greens was especially severe in Tuesday's opening round, Branham said, and scores across the board soared. The retired Norwich golf coach opened with a 5-over-par 77. "If you're familiar with Canasawacta Country Club, Cedar Lake is like playing the fourth, seventh, and fourteenth holes 18 times," Branham said. "There were a couple of greens that if you were above the hole and missed, you couldn't keep it on the green."