April 29, 2014
GREENSBORO, Ga. – Paul Johnson’s short game and Jon Barry’s length off the tee are proving to be a dominating combination at the Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge.
The Yellow Jacket duo held off pairs from Mississippi State (Dan Mullen and Fred McCray) and Cincinnati (Tommy Tuberville and J.K. Schaffer) to win the 2014 event by four strokes. It was their third Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge victory over the last four years.
Johnson and Barry won the Challenge in 2011 and 2012 before losing out to Miami last year. Team Tech, which secured a $125,000 scholarship purse for the Institute on Tuesday, has cumulative winnings of $582,000.
Johnson/Barry pulled away from the start, which actually began on Monday before rain stopped play after nine holes. The duo recorded an eagle and four consecutive birdies. When play resumed Tuesday, the Yellow Jackets never lost their grip on the lead, producing six additional birdies over the final nine holes.
“It’s always a great competition out here,” Johnson said. “We got off to a good start. That gave us the momentum we needed to finish strong.”
“Paul and I just gel together,” Barry said. “He’s a great putter and we have a good team. We birdied 18, which I believe is one of the hardest holes in Georgia.
“I had a great couple days with these coaches. The fellowship and the people at the Chick-fil-A Bowl are just great to be around. It’s a couple days I look forward to all year long and to win is fun because all these guys want to win. The Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge is competitive.”
A two-way tie between Mississippi State tandem Dan Mullen and Fred McCrary, and Cincinnati pair Tommy Tuberville and JK Schaffer, determined the second place winners, five strokes behind Johnson and Barry.
Five teams tied for a fifth-place finish at seven under, including N.C. State’s Dave Doeren and Terry Harvey; Auburn’s Gus Malzahn and Bo Jackson; Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and Steve Fuller; Ole Miss’ Hugh Freeze and Sean Tuohy; and Alabama’s Nick Saban and Mark Ingram.
Final official results from the 2014 Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge including scholarship winnings:
PLACE SCHOOL SCORE WINNINGS
1 Georgia Tech (Paul Johnson / Jon Barry) -13 $125,000
2 (T) Mississippi State (Dan Mullen / Fred McCrary) -9 $70,000
2 (T) Cincinnati (Tommy Tuberville / JK Schaffer) -9 $70,000
4 Arizona (Rich Rodriguez / Jack Wagner) -8 $50,000
5 (T) Alabama (Nick Saban / Mark Ingram) -7 $30,000
5 (T) Auburn (Gus Malzahn / Bo Jackson) -7 $30,000
5 (T) Clemson (Dabo Swinney / Steve Fuller) -7 $30,000
5 (T) N.C. State (Dave Doeren / Terry Harvey) -7 $30,000
5 (T) Ole Miss (Hugh Freeze / Sean Tuohy) -7 $30,000
10 Virginia Tech (Frank Beamer / Brad Clontz) -5 $25,000
11 North Carolina (Larry Fedora / Roy Williams) E $20,000
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. Closest to the Pin Challenge winners, include Coach Dave Doeren and celebrity player Jack Wagner. Each won an additional $5,000 in scholarship winnings for their respective schools.
Past Champions:
YEAR TEAM SCORE MARGIN
v 2013 Miami (Al Golden / Gino Torretta) -11 1 stroke
2012 Georgia Tech (Paul Johnson / Jon Barry) -10 1 stroke
2011 Georgia Tech (Paul Johnson / Jon Barry) -11 3 strokes
2010 Florida State (Jimbo Fisher / Terrell Buckley) -7 1 stroke
2009 South Carolina (Steve Spurrier / Sterling Sharpe) -12 1 stroke
2008 South Carolina (Steve Spurrier / Sterling Sharpe) -12 5 strokes
2007 Virginia Tech (Frank Beamer / Dell Curry) -10 1 stroke
