May 2, 2012
Greensboro, Ga. (May 1, 2012) - Paul Johnson and Jon Barry of Georgia Tech successfully defended their Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge championship today 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 |
| | Virginia Tech (Frank Beamer, Dell Curry) | -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 (Dabo Swinney, Steve Fuller) | -1 | $15,000 |
| | NC State (Tom O'Brien, Tom Gugliotta) | -1 | $15,000 |
Skills Competitions (From Monday):
| Long Drive (Coach Div.) | Al Golden, Miami | 303 yards | $5,000 |
| Long Drive (Celeb. Div.) | Jon Barry, Georgia Tech | 308 yards | $5,000 |
| Closest to the Pin (Coach Div.) | Urban Meyer, Ohio State | 2 ft. | $5,000 |
| Closest to the Pin (Celeb Div.) | Fred McCrary, Miss. State | 5 ft. | $5,000 |
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.
Past Champions:
| Year: | Team: | Score: | Margin: |
| 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 (Playoff) |
| 2008 | South Carolina (Steve Spurrier / Sterling Sharpe) | -12 | 5 strokes |
| 2007 | Virginia Tech (Frank Beamer / Dell Curry) | -10 | 1 stroke |
