SERENDIPITOUS
Pair Of Expectant Fathers Win Hooters
VAN NUYS – On the day Travois Gordón announced to the Tour he was going to be a dad, he and fellow expectant father Armen Grigorian won this year’s Hooters Team Play Championship. Grigorian’s 3rd Hooters victory came in his 90th career Tour start. “Halfway through the round I gave Travis a Terranea ball marker as a little encouragement to finish strong,” said Grigorian, whose last Hooters win was 5 years ago on this same course. For Gordón, his first Hooters win follows 3 runner-up finishes in his last 4 starts, including last year’s dramatic playoff loss. “It feels great. It’s nice to win a new tournament and to break through on one I’ve come so close on.” Asked how it felt to win on the day of his big announcement Gordón answered, “That’s the best, the serendipity of being teamed with another expectant father. There’s so much fatherhood-impending stress, and then to come out to the golf course and have a clear mind and just think about nothing but golf and just enjoy it, that had a lot to do [with our win].”
FINAL RESULTS
PLACE TEAM SCORE
1 GRIGORIAN / GORDÓN 16 + 16 = 32
2 W. VARGAS / FIDLER 13 + 14 = 27
3 D. VARGAS / E. QUIROZ 17 + 9 = 26
4 CRUMP / MOAWAD 14 + 8 = 22
5 FROST / BIRD 10 + 9 = 19
6 WITT / T. JOE / R. QUIROZ 5 + 11 = 16
CHIP SHOTS
The Good and The Bad: 3 teams made birdie: D. Vargas/E. Quiroz, W. Vargas/Fidler, Grigorian/Gordón. 2 teams avoided negative points: D. Vargas/E. Quiroz, Grigorian/Gordón. Only W. Vargas/Fidler suffered a dreaded minus-3 point hole… 3 Off The Record: As the only team to break the 30 point mark, Grigorian/Gordón’s 32 points was the 2nd highest total since the point scale was changed in 2008… Front Runner Fade: D. Vargas/E. Quiroz led at the turn but finished 3rd. 5 leaders in 10 editions have gone on to win. 3 times 1st round leaders have finished 2nd… Close But No Cigar: Walter Vargas finished runner-up for the 3rd straight year and watched his partner from last year (Gordón) win. P-Jay Fidler finished runner-up a 3rd time, making it 6 top-3’s in 8 starts… Continuing Trend: John Mann’s last minute withdrawal (migraine) makes it 6 non-starts in the past 7 years. Tim Joe finished last for the 4th year in a row… And Then There Were 4: Gordón’s win now leaves Tim Joe, P-Jay Fidler, Rene Quiroz, and John Mann as the remaining players yet to win The Hooters… Milestones: Doug Vargas made his 70th career start. Tim Joe tied the Tour record for most consecutive starts (38). Armen Grigorian’s 3rd career Hooters win places him in a 3-way tie for 2nd on the all-time Hooters wins list. Gerry Vaughan missed the Hooters for the first time in his career.
