Team Georgia Tech Repeats as Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge Champions

May 2, 2012

GREENSBORO, GA – Paul Johnson and Jon Barry of Georgia Tech successfully defended their Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge championship on Tuesday with a one stroke victory over the field to take home the $125,000 first-place scholarship prize.

After a seven-under-par effort on the front nine, Georgia Tech birdied hole 10 to take a two shot lead, but then fell back a shot on number 11. Johnson and Barry rebounded to birdie the 12th. After pars on the next three holes, they birdied numbers 16 and 17 to move to 10-under.

Needing a par at 18 to hold onto the victory, Johnson hit a wedge to within five feet and Barry nailed the putt to preserve the win over the teams from Florida State and Maryland.

“It was a first-class tournament. it’s fun to play out here and I’m very fortunate to have a partner that’s as skilled as Jon,” said Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech head coach. “It got real competitive coming down the stretch. We knew on 16 that we had to get probably to -10 because we knew the guys had strokes on us on the last hole.”

“I didn’t want to have to hit a five footer to win this tournament, but coach hit a great chip in there. We knew we had to make par on the toughest hole in Georgia and we got it done. It was a lot of fun,” Barry said. “I’ll tell you, my mouth was dry and I was as nervous as I’ve ever been. Thankfully we got it done and had a great time.”

“Thanks to the Chick-fil-A Bowl and all the volunteers. It’s a wonderful event that we look forward to every year,” Barry said.

“Our congratulations go out to team Georgia Tech for a great victory today. Coach Johnson and Jon Barry really brought their `A’ game today,” said Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Bowl president and CEO. “We were all blessed to have so many great universities represented out here today and we feel fortunate to be in a position to help deliver more than $750,000 in scholarship and charity through this year’s Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge.”

Final official results from the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge including scholarship winnings:

Place	Team	Score	Winnings
1st Place	Georgia Tech (Paul Johnson, Jon Barry)	-10	$125,000
2nd Place (T)	Florida State (Jimbo Fisher, Terrell Buckley)	-9	$55,000
	Maryland (Randy Edsall, Stan Gelbaugh)	-9	$55,000
4th Place (T)	Miss. State (Dan Mullen, Fred McCrary)	-8	$35,000
	Miss. State (Dan Mullen, Fred McCrary)	-8	$35,000
6th Place (T)	Ohio State (Urban Meyer, Jeff Logan)	-7	$25,000
	Alabama (Nick Saban, Johnny Musso)	-7	$25,000
8th Place (T)	Tennessee (Derek Dooley, Stanley Morgan)	-6	$20,000
	Ole Miss (Hugh Freeze, Sean Tuohy)	-6	$20,000
South Carolina (Steve Spurrier, Sterling Sharpe)	-6	$20,000
Miami (Al Golden, Gino Torretta)	-6	$20,000
North Carolina (Larry Fedora, Roy Williams)	-6	$20,000
13th Place	Wake Forest (Jim Grobe, Riley Skinner)	-5	$15,000
14th Place (T)	Clemson (Steve Fuller)	-1	$15,000
	NC State (Tom O’Brien, Tom Gugliotta)	-1	$15,000

After the first nine holes, the defending champions from Georgia Tech (-7) held a one stroke lead over the teams from North Carolina (-6) and Miami (-6). Alabama, South Carolina and Virginia Tech were in the hunt at -5.

The Yellow Jackets’ recorded five birdies and an eagle on the third hole en route to a seven-under-par front nine, which was best in the field.

The Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge is the country’s premier head coach and celebrity charity golf event featuring NCAA head coaches and former athletes and celebrities from the same school competing against their rivals for a share of a $520,000 scholarship purse.

In addition to the $520,000 scholarship purse, another $243,000 was generated for charitable organizations.

Al Golden, Urban Meyer Win Long Drive & Closest to the Pin ContestsJon Barry, Fred McCrary win Celebrity Divisions

April 30, 2012

GREENSBORO, GA – Miami head football coach Al Golden, Ohio State University head football coach Urban Meyer, former Georgia Tech basketball player Jon Barry and former Mississippi State football player Fred McCrary took home victories in Monday’s skills competitions at the Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge charity golf tournament at the Reynolds Plantation resort outside Atlanta.

Golden and Barry, both 2011 Long Drive Competition winners, defended their titles – Golden with a drive of 303 yards and Barry with a drive of 308.7 yards.

In the Closest to the Pin Contest, Meyer hit the 94-yard shot to within two feet to win the coaches division. McCrary’s shot was within five feet of the cup.

All four of the winners will receive $5,000 in scholarship prize money for their universities.

The full results from the Long Drive Competition (Coach Division) include: Al Golden, Miami – 303 yards Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss – 276.3 yards Urban Meyer, Ohio State – 271.6 yardsDabo Swinney, Clemson – 260.2 yards Randy Edsall, Maryland – 255.8 yards Derek Dooley, Tennessee – 250.8 yards Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech – 235.1 yards Steve Spurrier, South Carolina – 233 yards Dan Mullen, Mississippi State – 227.3 yards

The full 15-team field of NCAA head coaches and celebrity alumni will compete in the tournament round of the Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge tomorrow, for a share of the $500,000 scholarship purse.

The Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge is the nation’s premier head coach and celebrity golf gathering and takes place April 29 – May 1 on the picturesque courses at Reynolds Plantation, located on Lake Oconee outside Atlanta. A significant contributor to the Chick-fil-A Bowl’s yearly charitable and scholarship donation efforts, the Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge’s main event features teams composed of a university head coach and a celebrity or former athlete from the same school competing in a scramble format against other university teams from around the country. In 2011, the tournament raised more than $638,000 in charity and scholarship.

For more information on the event, visit www.Chick-fil-ABowlChallenge.com or follow @ChickfilABowl on Twitter.