When I started watching Big Break X Michigan tonight I did a quick look at the poll on Golf Channel to see who was favored. I have to say that I was not surprised to see Hugo and Camila out in front, given what I’ve read on the forums, but I was surprised to see by how much.
It would appear that most people thought that Hugo and Camila were going to win hands down. I would have thought that after last week’s win over Robbie and Amber, people would have given Haymes Bernie a bit more credit.
Well, I for one was thrilled! Bernie and Haymes are a class act. And although Haymes’ swing is a bit unorthodox, and Bernie was not as confident with her driver as she would have liked, together they make an unbeatable combination.
I loved how they encouraged each other and backed each other up when they really needed to. That one line from Haymes to Bernie, “Make me proud.” was so cool – it was like he was talking to his little sister.
I also loved the self-deprecating humor of Haymes after he said he needed to trust his swing on the 15th hole. His line about viewers thinking, “How can this guy trust his swing!” was hilarious.
Let’s hear from the man/daddy of the hour now – Mr. “do they get any nicer than this!” Haymes Snedeker.
Haymes is right. Bernie deserves so much credit for their win and what makes them such as great team. I really hope she does well at the Bell Micro LPGA Classic. I will make sure to bookmark that event and follow it on the blog. Hey…maybe she might even agree to an interview 😉
And Hugo and Camila are champions in their own right. Through the entire series they were such a fantastic team – so supportive – so caring – and great golfers. I am sure they will make it to the tours through hard work and talent.
I spoke with Michael after the show to get his thoughts. I really wanted to know who the eliminated teams thought would win…
I had forgotten that Haymes and Bernie were the ones who put Michael and Sherri into the elimination round. It’s so nice that Michael doesn’t hold a grudge against them. There really were some terrific people on this show.
Next up, Andrea, and her comments on the show and what happened that night when it was all over…
Can you imagine it taking that long to play 17 holes of golf? Wow…that had to be extremely exhausting and stressful for the two teams.
Sally joined me today to share what she thought about the show and the advice she’d give to any future Big Breaker hopeful…
Happy Birthday Sally!
Caught up with David today in this busy holiday season to get his thoughts on the final show and recommendations for future Big Breakers…
Well, Haymes paid the big price of missing the birth of his son to win this series. I sure hope he saves the recordings of the episodes to show to his boy when he grows up. I know if it was my dad, I’d be very proud.
Congratulations Haymes and Bernie! You truly are champions in more ways than one. I can’t wait to watch you both live your dreams on the PGA and LPGA tours.
And a special thanks to Andrea, Amber, Sally, Mike, David and Haymes for being such great sports and chatting with me every week. I really appreciate it and hope to keep in touch with you all in 2009!
I guess this is it – sniff – no more big break until May 2009. What will I do with my Tuesday nights!
Golfgal
First I like to thank Golfgal for taking the time to do all the interviews and congrats to the winners.
Now for the tough and honest comments about the winners.
With due respect to Haymes comments about Bernie ‘deserving to be on the tour’, there are many other unknowns with just as much if not more talent and desire than Bernie. Bernie said she left the LPGA with sour taste and Stina said it was because of money problems/lack of sponsorship. It would have been more honest if Bernadette just came out and said that money was a problem in her TGC interview. Her quiet nature can be a disadvantage when trying to find and secure sponsorship and maybe she needs to take a few public speaking classes to up her value to a prospective sponsor.
In these tough economic conditions, Bernie may soon find herself in the same position she was in when she left the LPGA tour the first time…lack of finances. Sponsors will be more selective and may just target the top 5-10 up-and-coming players from the various tours as the best bang for their dollars. So she has a lot of work to do to get to those spots. A few past BB winners of cars sold them for the money to help finance their golf careers. Don’t know if Bernie will do the same.
Looking at her record so far, I have yet to see any of her tournament scores at or under par, and that includes her recent entry into the Duramed FUTURES Tour Qualifying, Nov 4-7, 2008 (+12, 131 rank). She may want to keep her day job if her game does not improve or play more local tournaments and get a few wins (and cash) under her belt plus possibly meet interested sponsors from participating in those events.
Bernie really needed to play and win in the next BB show with it’s $100k 1st prize. That would let her pay the entry fees, R&B and travel expenses, and play in a few tournaments plus pay for a swing coach.
Haymes is a great guy and am glad he will fulfill his dream to play with his brother at least at one event. Crazy looking swing or not, he gets it done. But I don’t think he has any illusions about playing on the tour full time and making a living from it.
In the end, this was a good BB show. With the exception of James Vargas and Andrea VanderLende being eliminated early, the most experienced team won.