ORLANDO, Fla. (Feb. 15, 2006) -- Five ladies won a head-to-head match Tuesday to earn immunity from elimination on The Big Break V: Hawaii, and setting up a full-episode Elimination Challenge on the next show.
The Big Break show concept pits highly skilled golfers against each other in a variety of challenges that test their physical skills and mental toughness. One golfer is eliminated from the series each week, with the last golfer standing awarded her “Big Break,” a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete with the best on the LPGA Tour. In addition to taking home The Big Break V: Hawaii title, the winner will leave with a prize package that includes an exemption to the 2006 Safeway Classic; a Bridgestone Golf equipment contract; $10,000 in cash and golf merchandise from Golfsmith; and a Chrysler Crossfire Roadster. The winner also will reap the benefits from a one-of-a-kind training package, which will include professional instruction from Golf Channel Troubleshooter Dean Reinmuth, fitness sessions with expert Katherine Roberts and mental coaching from Dr. Gio Valiente, as well as exemptions, entry fees and travel expenses for 12 FUTURES Tour events in 2006..
Tuesday’s episode featured the Chrysler Immunity Challenge, which paired the 10 ladies in five, head-to-head, one-hole matches. The winner of each match would earn immunity from elimination, while the loser would head to the Elimination Challenge. In the case of a tie, both players would face elimination. Hosts Vince Cellini and Stephanie Sparks gave the ladies even more incentive to win their individual match-ups, announcing that the first contestant to win three Chrysler Immunity Challenges would drive off in a new Chrysler Crossfire Roadster.
Based on a random draw, the ladies were split into two groups of five. The ladies who drew a numbered golf ball – Jeanne Cho (Orlando, Fla.), Kim Lewellen (Wake Forest, N.C.), Becky Lucidi, (Poway, Calif.), Divina Delasin (San Francisco, Calif.) and Julie Wells (Portland, Ore.) – were able to pick their opponent for the match, effectively selecting the player they felt they could beat one-on-one.
Picking first, Cho chose Nikki DiSanto (Los Angeles, Calif.) as her opponent in the opening match. DiSanto made the match easy for Cho, as DiSanto’s tee shot pushed right and found the woods, forcing her to take an unplayable lie and re-tee. DiSanto tried to fight her way back into the match, but with Cho leading by two strokes and facing a short par putt, DiSanto conceded the hole.
Lewellen and Katie Ruhe (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) squared off next, and Lewellen gave Ruhe an early advantage by pushing her tee shot into the rough, then failing to advance her position on her second shot. A third swing from the rough nearly ended the match for Lewellen, as her shot skipped off the green and headed for the water hazard, rolling to a stop just short. Her ensuing chip was online, but ran out of steam before the hole. Ruhe, meanwhile, kept her tee shot on the fairway and dropped her second shot on the green. Her first putt stopped short of the hole, but she sunk her next putt for par, sending Lewellen to the Elimination Challenge.
The next match pitted Lucidi against Dana Lacey (Wilmington, Del./North Beach, Australia), and it was the short game that decided this match. Both ladies’ second shots put them in striking distance of the pin, with Lucidi’s chip shot from the fringe coming up just short. Lacey stepped up and hit the first big shot of the episode, sinking her chip from the rough, and in the process, knocking Lucidi into the Elimination Challenge.
Delasin faced Kristina Tucker (Pageland, S.C./Stockholm, Sweden) in the next match, with both ladies reaching the green on their second shot. Delasin’s shot stayed on the green, while Tucker’s rolled toward to the fringe. Tucker’s putt stopped short of the pin, while Delasin earned immunity by sinking her long birdie putt.
Wells and Ashley Prange (Noblesville, In.) teed it up in the final head-to-head match, with both hitting the fairway off the tee. Wells’ second shot skipped past the green into the rough, while Prange dropped her second shot on the front of the green. Her birdie putt stopped short, and Wells responded with a perfect chip from the rough that hit the pin and dropped in the hole. With the win, Wells became the fifth and final golfer to earn immunity from elimination, along with previous winners Cho, Ruhe, Delasin and Lacey. Prange’s loss in the final match meant she would face elimination along with DiSanto, Lewellen, Lucidi and Tucker.
Looking to Next Week:
Five golfers get to sit back and watch as the remaining five battle it out in the episode-long Elimination Challenge. With elimination just one missed shot away, the remaining five golfers contend with pressure, Mother Nature, and even a player injury in the Elimination Challenge. In the end, one golfer will be heading home, while the remaining nine survive to compete another day in the third episode of The Big Break V: Hawaii, airing Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.
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