Big Break Dominican Republic: 12 past contestants get a big mulligan

Only a few more days for Big Break Domincan Republic and I can already hear the buzz in golf cyberspace.  Not only does this show bring together the most “memorable” contestants we’ve seen over the past few years, it is a whole different ballgame.

Apparently, this is a men against the women competition without elimination every week.  The Big Break Champion will be the MVP of the winning team.  Hmmm…wonder what that means?  How will they choose the MVP?  There must be a point system.  Given the highly visible anomosity between players from previous Big Break’s I can’t imagine the choice coming down to a “vote” within the winning team’s ranks.  Hey…maybe the losing team should vote on who is the MVP of the winning team.  Now that would be interesting!

During Big Break Sandals, I met someone who took a real interest in the show and shared some great insights and opinions on my blog.  I am happy to say that Bluefalcon from NYC is back with his thoughts on the new show and the contestants. (And remember, these are his thoughts, not necessarily mine ;)).

Clearly, the producers of “BB” felt that the lack of on-camera drama during “BBSR” was a negative. So when casting the “Big Break Dominican Republic” series, they clearly went after polarizing personalities who were guaranteed to come into conflict. And boy, did they succeed!

Since I didn’t watch “Big Break Mesquite” or “Big Break Disney Golf”-I never watch the all-male BB’s-I’m not familiar with Blake Moore or Anthony Rodriquez. I live in New York City, so I’m more familiar with Andrew Giuliani’s father, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, than I am with Andrew, so I really can’t talk about those guys. However, I can talk about the other cast members.

David Mobley-Big Break X-Michigan. David reminds me of Fred Flintstone, down to the same caveman mentality. A competitor in long-drive competitions, David isn’t as good an all-around golfer as he likes to think he is. However, he is annoying enough to distract the others enough to get them thinking about him and not about their game. That may be the only way he survives long for this game.

Brian Skatell-Big Break Prince Edward Island. Brian’s a hard person for me to figure. Is he comic relief, or does he really think he’s Jack, Arnold and Tiger all rolled into one? If it’s the latter, he’s clearly deluding himself. I don’t think Brian’s as confident as he wants everyone to think he is, and that lack of confidence may end up being his downfall.

William “Football” Thompson-BBPEI. My favourite among the men. My concern with Football: is he too nice to win this competition? Most of the winners of this series have had a little bit of scumbag to them, the notable exceptions being Haymes Snedeker and Bernadette Luse, who won BBX-Michigan. They were two of the nicest people ever on the show, but also a bit of an anamoly. Football has the game to play the challenges; does he have the mental game to swim with these sharks? Football is going to need a bigger boat to survive BBDR.

Lori Atsedes-Big Break Ka’annapali. The most disliked female ever on the show, and not just by me. What she did to Christina Lecuyer on her season ranks as one of the most disgraceful things ever done on this show. While Christina’s actions-rooting openly for her competitors to fail were disrepectful and inappropriate-the way Lori and her fellow pitchfork and torch carrying witches Sophie Sandolo and Kim Welch treated Christina was even more deplorable. And then, Lori had the gall to act as if Christina was wrong for choosing not to kiss Lori’s [insert three letter verb here]. I get the sense that Lori dislikes anyone who is younger and better looking than she is-which is just about everyone on this show-and I fully expect her to be up to her tricks again with this group. However, she will find that these ladies aren’t quite as breakable as Christina was.

Sara Brown-BBSR. One of my early favourites to take the title of his series. Sara clearly has the game and the motivation after finishing third on BBSR. My only concern with her is the fact that there wasn’t a long layoff between BBSR and this season. Can she mentally and physically gather herself for another run at a Big Break title? If she can, she might be unstoppable.

Christina Lecuyer-BBK. Hopefully, Christina has learned a little humility since her last BB appearance. The golf skills are there. Are the people skills? I can’t imagine what she was thinking when she saw her tormentor Lori was in the cast as well. Christina can’t let Lori get to her the way she did at Ka’annapali.

Brenda McLarnon-BBPEI. Brenda, like David, is very mouthy. I don’t think Brenda is anywhere near as obnoxious as David can be, however. Brenda is not the longest player in the group, so she will have to rely on her short game and putter to pull her through. One adavantage that Brenda will have-which is shared by David, Brian, Football and Blair-is that they have played unisex Big Break series whereas the others haven’t. How much, if any, advantage that is remains to be seen.

Blair O’Neal-BBPEI. Blair was seriously underestimated on BBPEI because she looks like a bikini model-which she is sometimes-but she won’t be here after going to the final of PEI before losing to Derek Gillespie. Blair is another one of my favourites to take it all. She’s definitely got the skills to pay da bills and she also won’t lack for motivation.

Elena Robles-BBSR. The bombshell of BBSR returns for a shot at redemption. The key for Elena here is to fight off the inevitable Lori attack and to have a better frame of mind than she did on BBSR-on the first episode, Elena was unhappy with her room arrangment. I think that did affect her more than it should have. If Elena can keep her focus on her golf game-which is considerable-and less on other things she could be a serious dark horse to win it all.

Bottom line, even without a Battle of the Sexes, BBDR is bound with this mix of personalities, to be full of drama. It should be fun.

Thanks so much Bluefalcon! I appreciate your analysis a lot. Can’t agree with all your opinions regarding the contestants, but I do support your right to share what you think and so happy you chose to share your thoughts here.  🙂

I am excited about this reunion show and its new format. It’s a second chance for the players and I hope everyone watching the show has amnesia about their past transgressions and gives all the contestants a 2nd chance to win their respect and support.

Golfgal