Big Break Disney loses a champion

Since the day I read the Big Break Disney announcement about this season's contestants I was absolutely certain Vincent Johnson, the first recipient of the Charlie Sifford Exemption at the 2009 Northern Trust Open, would be the winner. And I was right. Vincent is a winner. The Big Break lost. The wrong person went home.

Vincent has game, talent, attitude, determination and heart. What more could anyone ask for in a champion? Watching him leave the show tonight made me the saddest I've been on any Big Break to date (and I've watched them all).

But knowing Vincent, this little set back won't do any harm to him or his career. He's battled other challenges, (like Graves Disease in 2007) and I have no doubt in my mind that we will see Vincent hold a very big trophy someday on the PGA, w/o any help from the Big Break.

I spoke with Vincent tonight and, as usual, he had great comments about tonight's show, the other contestants, and 'what we didn't see' (my favorite part of every interview)...



I am so happy that Vincent has agreed to continue the interviews every week. I know he'll add a lot of great commentary to the shows going forward. Thanks Vincent!

Blake looked like he was going to break a club or two tonight and exit stage left, but when push comes to shove, this guy sure pulls off the shots when he really needs them. Nothing surprises me about this man! He's one to watch!



Kevin's on a plane tonight, so I'll have to catch up with him next week to congratulate him on his long drive immunity win, and find out more about that ride in the racecar. Looked awesome! Stephanie looked pretty cool in that thing too, don't you think? :) Lucky golfgal!

Golfgal

Big Break Disney 5: From sad to sensational

Well...I don't know about you, but for me this week's Big Break was one sad experience after another, starting with the first immunity challenge. Not one of the players came to that challenge with their A game/shot. No wonder they asked for "do over".

Sure, Tony and Gipper got two points and won immunity and deserve congratulations, but that was a pretty sad way to win the chance to compete in the Children's Miracle Network challenge -- sad for the producers, sad for the sponsors and sad for us viewers.

It was also sad to watch Mike plug that ball into the hazard - talk about your bad luck! And it was sad that friends who teamed together had to play against each other later in the show.

But the saddest part of all was watching JR's ball take a dive into the water, followed by his 4th and 5th shots in the sand. He's so much better than that. There's a reason this was his first elmination challenge on the show. He's a good player. But even the good ones have bad days/shots and all it takes is one bad shot and it's back to Nebraska. Sorry to see you go, JR. I want to see your tatoos on the PGA Tour, so don't give up. What would the commish think of those! I wonder if you'd be asked to wear long shirts with the mandatory long pants on tour. ;)

But as sad as the show seemed to be, what saved it for us all was that "Come back tomorrow shot" of Mike's. Wow! My golfguy thought it was the best part of the whole show and I had to agree with him. It was sensational. Go Mikey!

I had the pleasure of talking with Vincent, Blake and Kevin this week. They all had interesting perspectives on the day. Vincent had to watch his team mate take the walk of shame. Blake had to support Mike through his frustrations and Kevin got to play with Andrew. I couldn't wait to find out what they all thought about tonight's show, starting with Vincent.



Blake was pretty quiet tonight (except for those shorts!) but that's probably because his partner was so talkative. Mike certainly had a lot to say this evening, but in the end, his clubs spoke the best for him.



Kevin was benched tonight. Usually that's a bad thing, but not on the Big Break. Glad to see he was able to sit back and relax for a change. He's spent his fair share of days wondering if he was going home. It was time for him to get a break.



Next week looks pretty cool at the race track. And Blake's temper looks to be back in fine form. There are hints that Andrew may finally be feeling the heat as well. Can't wait to watch.

Golfgal

Big Break Disney 4: Sean rides the Disney rollercoaster to elimination

This was probably one of the most nerve racking Big Breaks for me in a long time. While the guys were playing flop shots, my stomach was doing flip/flops as I watched Kevin and Blake inch their way towards elimination. But thankfully they both survived to live another day. Whew!

Unfortunately Sean's luck ran out today as he slowly chipped (or should I say chunked) himself off the show.

But given he hasn't got the experience of the other guys he should hold his head up high knowing that he played some pretty clutch shots during his 4 episodes. The last risk/reward hole in episode 3's elimination comes to mind.

Tonight I had the pleasure of interviewing Vincent and Blake together on the phone. What a treat that was for me! They were with Blake's family, enjoying watching the show and having even more fun watching Blake's family squirm in their chairs...these boys are cruel ;)




Kevin avoided elimination tonight by the skin of his 3 wood. Ouch! I just had to ask him about that. HaHa! Maybe I'm a little cruel too!



Lesson learned...never hit a soft anything, especially when nervous. Club down, use the natural adrenaline the nerves give you, and grip it and rip it!

Haven't caught up yet with Tony or Mike. Perhaps they're busy with Q-school. But I'll keep trying. Meanwhile, I'm heading to Maui for almost 3 weeks of golfing in paradise. But I'll plan my tee times around the Big Break so I won't miss a shot.

Golfgal