Colusa pro is 15th

Ric Burgess improved on his second-round play, but settled back in the pack at the Northern California Golf Association Senior Open Championship Wednesday at Diablo Grande Resort in Patterson.

Burgess, the club pro at Colusa Golf & Country Club, improved on his second-round score, and finished in a tie for 15th with two others. He shot a 75 in the final round, giving him a three-day total of 224, 19 strokes in back of winner Jeff Burda of Modesto.

He opened the tournament with a 72, which placed him four strokes behind of the leader, but struggled in the second round, carding a 77.

Burda took a four-stroke lead in the second round on Tuesday with a tournament-low 65 and held off the field with a 70 for a three-round score of 205 in the $15,000 tournament.

Mike Paul of Reno finished second with a 211.