Hugh Freeze and Wesley Walls win 2016 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl golf challenge
By Nick Cole
Published:
Team Ole Miss emerged victorious at Tuesday’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl charity golf challenge.
Rebels head coach Hugh Freeze teamed with former TE Wesley Walls to shoot 11-under par, which was good enough to secure the $100,000 prize for charity.
The event was played at Reynolds Lake Oconee Resort near Atlanta.
According to the event’s official report, Freeze and Walls were propelled to the victory by a strong finish, which was ignited by Freeze draining an eagle chip from 150 yards out on the 14th hole.
???@CoachHughFreeze with a 150-yard eagle on the 14th hole to jump start @OleMissFB's #CFAPBGolf comeback victory! pic.twitter.com/XOQVVR0olw
— Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (@CFAPeachBowl) May 3, 2016
“The ball was jumping off my irons and I knew I hit it good,” Freeze said of the shot. “Then Wesley said he thought he saw it disappear. I thought it was long but I started walking to the hole pretty fast and found out it went in. That’s when we thought we had a chance.”
“I was just nervous and we both had a lot of adrenaline running through our veins,” Walls added. “The way coach was putting we knew we just had to keep the ball in play.”
The Ole Miss team was one of six SEC twosomes to participate. Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Georgia were also involved.
New Georgia coach Kirby Smart had a strong rookie showing, teaming with David Dukes for a second-place finish.
Here’s a look at the final standings, scores and charity payouts:
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE | WINNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ole Miss (Hugh Freeze / Wesley Walls) | -11 | $100,000 |
| 2 (T) | Georgia (Kirby Smart / David Dukes) | -9 | $55,000 |
| 2 (T) | Georgia Tech (Paul Johnson / Jon Barry) | -9 | $55,000 |
| 2 (T) | NC State (Dave Doeren / Terry Harvey) | -9 | $55,000 |
| 5 | Auburn (Gus Malzahn / Bo Jackson) | -8 | $45,000 |
| 6 (T) | South Carolina (Steve Spurrier / Sterling Sharpe) | -7 | $35,000 |
| 6 (T) | Mississippi State (Dan Mullen / Fred McCrary) | -7 | $35,000 |
| 8 (T) | Cincinnati (Tommy Tuberville / J.K. Schaffer) | -6 | $30,000 |
| 8 (T) | Virginia Tech (Frank Beamer / Cam Young) | -6 | $30,000 |
| 10 | Clemson (Dabo Swinney / Steve Fuller) | -5 | $20,000 |
| 11 | Alabama (Nick Saban / Chris Mohr) | -3 | $20,000 |
| 11 | North Carolina (Larry Fedora / B.J. Surhoff) | -3 | $20,000 |
| 13 | Houston (Tom Herman / Andre Ware) | -1 | $20,000 |
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
