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GRIGORIAN/BIRD PREVAIL AT HOOTERS
Old Buddies Out-duel Defending Champs
SOUTH PASADENA – It took 13 years for Armen Grigorian and Patrick Bird to be paired up again for the Hooters Championship. The MGM Tour charter members teamed up in the inaugural edition back in 2003 in what was just the 2nd tournament of a fledgling Tour. Sunday, Grigorian/Bird and defending champions Frost/Moawad were the 2 best teams of the field, turning in the 2 highest point totals in the history of the tournament. Grigorian/Bird outperformed the defending champions by 2 points. “I’ve always had a special spot in my stomach for this tournament, and to win it here with Armen, who probably I’ve been to Hooters with more than anybody else in my life, it’s just a very special moment for me,” said Bird, who was sporting his ‘Hooters-orange’ golf shirt. The win was Bird’s 3rd at the Hooters and 10 years after his first, which coincidentally, came at Arroyo Seco, site of this year’s edition. Armen Grigorian’s 4th victory now places him in a 3-way tie for #1 on the all-time Hooters wins list. “I had a funny feeling [before the round]. If Bird and I are remotely close to being on, we may take this.” The win for Bird ended the Tour’s 4th longest winless streak at 20. “It’s just nice to win again because it’s been so long since I’ve won anything,” said Bird whose last win, ironically, was the Hooters in 2013.
FINAL RESULTS
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GRIGORIAN / BIRD | 38 = 24 + 14 |
| 2 | FROST / MOAWAD | 36 = 24 + 12 |
| 3 | CRUMP / FREITAS | 28 = 10 + 18 |
| 4 | E. QUIROZ / MANN | 24 = 10 + 14 |
| 5 | VAUGHAN / D. VARGAS | 23 = 9 + 14 |
| 6 | T. JOE / R. QUIROZ | -27 = (-17) + (-10) |
QUICK CHIPS:
New records: Grigorian/Bird’s 38 points beat the old record by 6 points, despite 3 negative point holes. Frost/Moawad’s 36 bested the old record by 4 points. The defending champs avoided negative points while scoring on all but 2 holes. T. Joe/R. Quiroz set a new record, that of futility, likely never to be broken. The pair scored negative-27 points, managing just 3 holes (of 1 point) in the positive… Curse continues: Frost/Moawad became the 10th defending champions in 11 editions to fail to repeat as champions… All time list: Grigorian joins Martin Witt and John Frost as the only 4-time winners of the Hooters, while Bird’s 3 wins has him tied with Doug Vargas for 2nd on the all-time wins list… In the neighborhood: Whether or not John Mann’s house being just minutes from the course made a difference, Mann made a rare appearance at the Hooters. It was just his 3rd start in the past 9 years. He and partner Ed Quiroz avoided any negative points while scoring on all but 2 holes… Milestones: Chris Moawad made his 95th career start, Gerry Vaughan his 80th, Doug Vargas his 85th, Rene Quiroz, 40th. St. Patrick’s Day: quite a day for Patrick Bird: 1st start of the season, 90th start of his career, 3rd Hooters win (10 years after his first Hooters win on the very same course), set a new points record, and remained the only golfer on Tour who has never missed a start at the Hooters.