WHAT A CROC
Witt Wins Devil Ball In Foam Clogs
SANTA ANITA, Arcadia – There was a 70% chance Sunday, the Devil Ball Shootout would produce this season’s first 2-time winner. Not many though, would realistically have predicted Martin Witt. After all, had his team made the championship round – which it did – he would have had to contend with the likes of Chris Moawad, Doug Vargas, and Nik Freitas, straight-up, no handicaps. Tied with Patrick Bird and Freitas, and trailing Vargas by 1 stroke heading to the final hole, Witt responded with a bogey on the par-4, 419 yard dog-leg-right while his former teammates faltered. “This is Devil Ball, man. This is where it’s at. This is no joke, dude. Actually, holy s–t, I can’t believe I won this,” said a stunned Witt after his 2nd win of the year and first multi-win season since 2009. Adding color, literally, to his victory was the fact that he played in blue Crocs after he forgot his golf shoes. “You know the hardest part of Crocs is lining up because you don’t know how your feet actually are.”
Runner-up… again.
In his first Devil Ball appearance in 4 years, Doug Vargas finished tied for 2nd, 1 stroke off the win. It was Vargas’s 3rd straight runner-up finish this season, and it left him replaying his club selection on 18 in his head. “I had my club. I swung, and I was about to hit, and [I decided instead to] try driver. I’m going for it. I hit the tree and it went literally 20 feet in front of us. I hit another wood, beautiful shot, hit the tree. That was it, those were the 2 strokes that killed me,” said a disconsolate Vargas.
2015 DEVIL BALL FINAL RESULTS
| PLACE | GOLFER | SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| 1 T2 T2 4 5 | Witt D. Vargas Freitas Bird Moawad | 18 19 19 20 23 |
| 6 T7 T7 9 10 | W. Vargas Crump Frost T. Joe Fidler | 15 18 18 20 21 |
Team Portion:
1st: ROULETTE (Witt, D. Vargas, Freitas, Bird, Moawad)
(E) 59 Scramble, 2 birdies
(+27) 86 Devil Ball
Total Score: 145
2nd: KENO (W. Vargas, Crump, Frost, T. Joe, Fidler)
(+3) 62 Scramble, 1 birdie
(+32) 91 Devil Ball
Total Score: 153
QUICK CHIPS
Top performance wasted: Masters champion Walter Vargas turned in the best score (15) and carded a par, but his team did not make the championship round… Brotherly prowess: Doug and Walter Vargas both played the devil ball on the par-5 482 yard 13th, and both carded the only devil ball pars of the day… A devil of a time: It was a long day for Nik Freitas, playing in his first Devil Ball. Battered and worn, the Tour rookie struggled to describe his experience, at first offering only two words, “Done. Terrible.” After a bit more time, he summoned up, “It’s golf man. One or two miss-hits just ruins a hole. I drove the ball so good, and then 2nd hit… it’s a long day.”… Deja vu: Tim Joe’s struggles on the par-3 8th (he needed multiple attempts out of the sand trap before carding a 10) were a virtual repeat of 2012 when he carded an 11… Birdie Pool: unclaimed, $10 rolls over to the Tour Championship… Milestones: Chris Moawad made his 90th career start. The 10-year veteran now sits 3rd on the all-time tournaments played list behind charter members Armen Grigorian and Tim Joe (94).
