ORLANDO, Fla. (March 8, 2006) -- Battling lower-leg injuries that hobbled her throughout Tuesday’s show, Divina Delasin managed to make things interesting, forcing the Elimination Challenge to a sudden-death playoff before becoming the fourth contestant eliminated from The Big Break V: Hawaii.
An assistant golf professional from San Francisco, Calif., Delasin, 24, tried to work her way through painful shin splints that seemed to affect her stance and swing throughout the show. After nearly capturing an automatic immunity on the first hole of the Elimination Challenge, her luck ran out in the sudden-death playoff, as her tee shot bounced out of bounds, and the ensuing drop and penalty stroke conspired to seal her fate.
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.
Hole no.13 on the Palmer Course at Turtle Bay Resort was the site of the four-location Elimination Challenge, which tested the ladies’ skills from intermediate ranges, including 91, 138, 146 and 160 yards out. Each contestant took one swing at the green from each of the first three locations, with the golfer closest to the pin at each location earning a spot on the next show. The four remaining contestants would move to the fourth location, where they would finish the hole, and the golfer with the highest score would be eliminated.
Becky Lucidi (Poway, Calif.), claimed the first immunity of the Elimination Challenge, dropping her first-location shot 13 feet 4 inches from the pin. The second location, 138 yards from the hole, saw Kristina Tucker (Pageland, S.C./Stockholm, Sweden) punch her ticket to the next show, capturing the second immunity with a shot that stopped 13 feet 5 inches from the hole. Dana Lacey (Wilmington, Del./North Beach, Australia) managed to capture the third and final automatic immunity at the 146-yard shot, despite sticking the winning shot more than 42 feet from the hole. Lucidi, Tucker and Lacey earned the right to stand back and watch as Delasin, Jeanne Cho (Orlando, Fla.), Kim Lewellen (Wake Forest, N.C.) and Julie Wells (Portland, Ore.) move to the sudden-death aspect of the Elimination Challenge.
None of the four would budge an inch at the fourth location, with each posting a score of four, forcing the ladies to proceed to a sudden death playoff. Cho, Lewellen and Wells all found the green on their tee shots, while the wheels started to come off for Delasin. Her tee shot bounced off the rough and into the greenside water hazard, forcing her to take a drop and a penalty stroke. The ensuing drop left her on uneven ground, putting more pressure on her injured legs, and Delasin was unable to fight her way out, as her chip from the rough stopped on the fringe. Her next shot stopped short of the hole, opening the door for the other three ladies to two-putt their way to safety.
LPGA Tour and Michelob Ultra Ambassadors Lori Kane and Beth Bauer lent a hand to the Big Break crew in the Chrysler Immunity Challenge, as the pair took the first swings in a unique “closest-to-the-pin” contest, taking aim at the green from 100 yards out to help establish the scoring grid. The ladies took two swings at the green – in the first round, shots inside the ambassadors’ were worth two points, while shots outside but in a larger circle were worth one point. After the first round six of the golfers were tied with one point each, and the ambassadors stepped up to make things more interesting.
Based on the LPGA Tour stars’ second shots, a pair of new scoring rings was added, giving The Big Break ladies four scoring targets: the inner-most ring, at four feet from the pin, was worth four points; the second ring out, at 10 feet from the hole, was worth three points, the third ring, 12 feet from the hole, was worth two points, and the final ring was worth one point. Lucidi and Cho each picked up two points in the second round, but Ashley Prange (Noblesville, Ind.), secured the Immunity Challenge victory by hitting a four-point shot, giving her five points total, and propelling her onto the next show.
Looking to Next Week
With just seven ladies remaining, the contestants hit the links in an effort to stay alive for another show, as well as taking aim at bonus prizes throughout the episode. The ladies are reminded that Mother Nature can wreak havoc on their golf game, and that sometimes the difference between survival and elimination is just a matter of inches. In the end, one more golfer will see her Big Break dreams come to an end on the next episode of The Big Break V: Hawaii, airing Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.
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