MOAWAD UP TO THE (South Bay) CHALLENGE
His Victory, A First At Manhattan Beach
Counting 7 starts in the now defunct Manhattan Beach Championship and 2 previous in the current South Bay Challenge, Chris Moawad had never raised a trophy on the Westdrift Course. Sunday, Moawad celebrated the start of his 20th season on the MGM Tour with his 34th career win. He was off to a hot start with a stellar 1st round at The Lakes in El Segundo the previous week and carried that strong play into Sunday’s final 2 rounds. As an added bonus to his winning round, he also won the birdie pool.
FINAL SCORES (par-84)
| PLACE | GOLFER | SCORES | HANDICAP | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 | Moawad W. Vargas T. Joe D. Vargas Stolz Fidler | 33-36-34 = 103 37-40-34 = 111 40-36-43 = 119 38-38-40 = 116 45-52-48 = 145 # -38-47 | -21 -28 -32 -28 -49 | 82 83 87 88 96 |
CHIP SHOTS
Epic Collapse: 2 time-defending champion Tim Joe added his final round to the MGM Tour’s list of most famous… or infamous defeats. Calculating in handicaps, Joe headed to the 17th hole with a 3-stroke lead on Moawad but saw that lead evaporate in spectacular fashion with 3 consecutive shots into the lake, and later, an approach shot to the green that hit a palm tree. He would finish the hole with a 12, while Moawad finished with bogey, a difference of 8 strokes… Leaders: Moawad and Joe pars (9), followed by W. Vargas (8); Moawad and W. Vargas bogeys (14), followed by T. Joe and D. Vargas (11)… Tweet-tweet: Moawad’s final round 5th hole birdie broke a tie with Doug Vargas to win the $10 birdie pot ($4 rolled over from 2024).