May 3, 2016
GREENSBORO, Georgia – Representing Georgia Tech, Paul Johnson and Jon Barry finished second in the annual Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl Challenge and earned $55,000 for scholarships and charity at Reynolds Lake Oconee Resort.
Johnson won the closest to the pin competition among coaches, getting within 5 feet and 2 inches on the fifth hole, while Barry won the longest drive contest among celebrities with 285 yards on the first hole. Each earned $5000 for their respective skills victory.
The overall tournament was won by Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze and his partner Wesley Walls with a score of –11. Johnson and Barry tied for second at –9 with teams from NC State and Georgia among the 13 team field. Entering this year’s tournament, Johnson and Barry had won four of the last five tournament titles, including a playoff win last year.
The $55,000 in prize money will be evenly split between Georgia Tech scholarship and Camp Twin Lakes. Over the nine year history of the tournament, Georgia Tech entrants have won $737,000, outdistancing the next highest winnings (South Carolina) by more than $200,000.
In addition to the $540,000 charity and scholarship purse award at this year’s tournament, another $124,500 was generated for charitable organizations. Over the last nine years, the event has contributed a total of $6 million in scholarship and charity, helping make the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl college football’s most charitable bowl game.