ORLANDO, Fla. (April 5, 2006) -- Calling her second chance “the biggest Mulligan of her career,” Becky Lucidi outlasted five other previously-eliminated competitors and earned the right to re-join the competition in Tuesday’s unprecedented “playback” episode of The Big Break V: Hawaii.
Lucidi (Poway, Calif.), who saw her first run on the show end in a week-seven bunker challenge, out-dueled Katie Ruhe (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) in head-to-head match play in the final Playback Challenge, sending Ruhe off the show for the second time, and securing Lucidi’s second chance in The Big Break field.
With the previously-eliminated contestants waiting in the wings, hosts Vince Cellini and Stephanie Sparks broke the news to the five ladies still alive in The Big Break V. Instead of competing, they enjoyed a day of rest and relaxation, while the six golfers they thought were gone from the show – Divina Delasin, Nikki DiSanto, Jo D. Duncan, Lucidi, Ruhe and Kristina Tucker – would battle it out in a special redemption competition, with the ultimate winner re-joining The Big Break field. The ladies competed in four playback challenges, with the worst performer in each challenge being eliminated, culminating with Lucidi and Ruhe squaring off in the fifth and final playback challenge.
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.
The first Playback Challenge tested the ladies’ driving accuracy, as they took aim at a designated grid 190 yards from the tee. Each player could take up to four swings to hit the grid, and the player with the highest score would be eliminated. Still struggling with lower-leg injuries that led to her first elimination, Delasin (San Francisco, Calif.) needed four swings to find the grid, becoming the first casualty of the show.
Playback Challenge no. 2 placed the remaining five ladies in a greenside bunker, with each getting one swing at the green. The three ladies closest to the pin moved onto the next challenge, while the remaining two would face off in a single-round sudden death playoff. After DiSanto, Ruhe and Tucker grabbed the spots in the next challenge, Duncan and Lucidi faced off in the playoff, but Duncan’s shot sailed over the green, meaning Lucidi needed to merely hit the green to advance. She did, and Duncan (St. Louis, Mo.) became the second player eliminated.
A fairway shot 75 yards from the hole was the focus of the third Playback Challenge, as each golfer could take up to four swings to hit a target circle surrounding the pin. After Lucidi started the competition with a three, Tucker locked up her spot in the next challenge with a two. Ruhe’s third shot was one for the highlight reel, as she found the bottom of the cup on the fly. After leaving her first two shots, DiSanto could force a playoff by sticking her third shot in the target. Her shot came up short, making the Los Angeles, Calif. native the third contestant eliminated.
With three ladies eliminated, Lucidi, Ruhe and Tucker moved onto the fourth Playback Challenge, with all three looking for a spot in the final match. The field would be determined by the ladies’ skills with the putter, as each had an opportunity to sink up to eight putts of increasing length. Each golfer had to sink the first putt to move onto the second, and from there would keep putting until she missed a putt. The golfer with the fewest made putts would be eliminated, and the remaining two would move onto the final Playback Challenge. Tucker led off by sinking her first three putts, but her streak ended when her fourth putt rolled wide. Lucidi went second and hit her first four putts before missing, and Ruhe ended Tucker’s Big Break run by sinking her first four putts. Tucker’s elimination pushed Ruhe and Lucidi into the final Playback Challenge – one hole of head-to-head match play, which Lucidi won by sinking an 18-foot birdie putt.
After Lucidi managed to dispatch Ruhe, she made her way to the restaurant, where the active Big Break field waited to see who would re-join the competition. Lucidi knows her return to the competition will ruffle some feathers, but she wasn’t apologizing for taking advantage of her second chance.
“I’m not sure how the other girls are going to feel, but I’m sure if they were given the same opportunity I was, they would do the exact same thing I would do,” Lucidi explained.
Looking to Next Week
Lucidi’s return adds more fuel to an already-intense competition, as the ladies battle it out to see who will advance in the newly-expanded field. Despite the mounting tension and pressure, the ladies have to work together to play their way onto the next show; and, in the process, tempers will flare. The competition isn’t decided until the final shot, when another golfer sees her Big Break dreams come to an end in the next episode of The Big Break V: Hawaii, airing Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.
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