Some of the biggest names in college football, along with their celebrity partners, hit the links at The OconeeThe Oconee course at Reynolds Lake Oconee on May 1st to compete for a share of a $520,000 scholarship purse in the sixth annual Chick-fil-A Bowl ChallengeChick-fil-A Bowl Challenge.
Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson and Jon Barry successfully defended their challenge title, finishing at 10-under, one shot ahead of the teams from Florida State and Maryland. Needing a par on 18 for the win, Johnson hit a wedge within five feet of the hole and Barry tapped it in, giving the team $125,000 in scholarship money for their school.
“It was a first-class tournament, it’s fun to play here and I’m very fortunate to have a partner that’s as skilled as Jon”, said Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech head coach. “I didn’t want to have to hit a five footer to win this tournament, but coach hit a great chip shot in there. We knew we had to make par on the toughest hole in Georgia and we got it done”, Barry said.
For these coaches, who rarely get to interact away from football, it's a welcome respite from the daily grind.
Final official results from the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge
| 1st Place | Georgia Tech (Paul Johnson, Jon Barry) | -10 | $125,000 |
| 2nd Place (T) | Florida State (Jimbo Fisher, Terrell Buckley) Maryland (Randy Edsall, Stan Gelbaugh) | -9 -9 | $55,000 $55,000 |
| 4th Place (T) | Miss. State (Dan Mullen, Fred McCrary) Virginia Tech (Frank Beamer, Dell Curry) | -8 -8 | $35,000 $35,000 |
| 6th Place (T) | Ohio State (Urban Meyer, Jeff Logan) Alabama (Nick Saban, Johnny Musso) | -7 -7 | $25,000 $25,000 |
| 8th Place (T) | Tennessee (Derek Dooley, Stanley Morgan) Ole Miss (Hugh Freeze, Sean Tuohy) South Carolina (Steve Spurrier, Sterling Sharpe) Miami (Al Golden, Gino Torretta) North Carolina (Larry Fedora, Roy Williams) | -6 | $20,000 $20,000 $20,000 $20,000 $20,000 |
| 13th Place | Wake Forest (Jim Grobe, Riley Skinner) | -5 | $15,000 |
| 14th Place (T) | Clemson (Dabo Swinney, Steve Fuller) NC State (Tom O'Brien, Tom Gugliotta) | -1 -1 | $15,000 $15,000 |
