• Hometown: Orlando, Fl.
• Birthday: 8/21/76
• College: United States Naval Academy
• Interests: Sports, Fishing and Movies
• Family: Married

Aaron Wright’s granite jaw and icy stare make him look every bit the Marine that he is. He is a no-nonsense kind of guy who earns guys’ respect and makes girls swoon.

Ironically, it was a golf match that was a turning point in the direction of his life. In the 1992 U.S. Junior Amateur, Wright lost a match 4 &3 to Tiger Woods, whose caddie that day was renowned golf psychologist/guru Jay Brunza. A former Marine, Brunza asked Wright what he planned to do with his future and then suggested the United Stated Naval Academy. Wright applied and not only was accepted but awarded a golf scholarship the next year. In his senior year, he was named All-American.

After graduation, Wright honored his commitment to the Marines by serving in the infantry in the South Pacific and Afghanistan. While never firing his weapon in Afghanistan, he worked tirelessly training the Afghan army, reworking the military structure and helping rebuild part of the country.

“I’m glad that I had the opportunity to do it,” Wright said about the six-months he spent in Afghanistan in 2003. “Throughout the rest of my life, whether it is playing golf or working in something else, I’ll never get the opportunity to serve and work with the type of people that I was able to while I was there.”

The Marine Corps experience not only shaped Wright’s life, but also his approach to golf. An intense competitor, he was outwardly excitable, easily fired up and would wear his emotions on his sleeve. As a Marine, he quieted his emotions while staying intense. “The biggest thing that the Marines helped me with on the golf course is dealing with my emotions,” explained Wright. “I tend to be a pretty intense person, so being able to deal with different situations and calm myself down to focus and execute has been an asset.”

Last year was an eventful time for Wright: In 2008, he got married and qualified for his first Nationwide Tour’s Henrico County Open, where he tied for 54th. In addition, he posted three top 10 finishes on the Hooters Tour.

However, there were some setbacks. His wife, Kelly, lost her real estate sales job and went back to school. The $14,689 he earned on the Hooters Tour was not enough to pay both the mounting bills and the money he owed to sponsors.

“For people playing the mini tours, it’s just not that easy to make it,” said Wright. “Money is one of the biggest reasons that people stop playing. It would really be good if I could win some cash.”

Big Break Prince Edward Island will ensure that one of the 12 competitors’ financial futures will become more secure. Each of them need help, but perhaps, none deserve a break more than Wright.

• Hometown: Greensburg, PA
• Home Golf Course: Totteridge Golf Club, Greensburg, PA/Virginia Beach National, Virginia Beach, VA
• Birthday: 9/30/72
• College: University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg
• Interests: Skiing and Weight Lifting
• Family: In a relationship

If Brian Skatell hoists the championship trophy at the conclusion of Big Break Prince Edward Island, it would be a small miracle since he has never played competitive golf. However, don’t count him out just yet. He has a history of beating the odds.

At age 28, Skatell was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis – a very painful inflammatory bowel disease – and did not pick up a golf club for five years as he fought to make a recovery. While the cause of ulcerative colitis is still unknown, some think that the smallest illness could spark the disease.

In April of 2001, he underwent laparoscopic surgeries to remove his colon (proctocolectomy) at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Both the surgeries and recovery process were serious, but his body made it through the long healing process. “The doctors say I’m now a beacon of health and that I could be the poster child for anyone who’s had this disease at this level of severity,” explained Skatell, whose weight dropped to 120 pounds during the ordeal.

In March 2008, just six months prior to the taping of Big Break Prince Edward Island, Skatell had another scare and found himself in emergency exploratory surgery. Air was leaking into his abdomen and doctors thought something had gone terribly wrong from his previous surgery. “No amount of morphine could touch the pain I was in,” Skatell remembers. “Doctors said I was in grave danger, and I was in fear for my life. It’s crazy to believe, but after surgery my doctor said the area where the air was leaking must have healed itself, because he couldn’t find anything wrong. My doctors said the recovery was nothing short of miraculous.”

After surgery this past March, Skatell was down to 130 pounds again. In just six months time, he brought his weight back to 165 pounds, managed to get back into the golf industry as an assistant golf professional and began to train for Big Break Prince Edward Island. Now healed, Skatell maintains that he is “a 36 year-old with the body of a 27 year-old.”

Despite the fact he will be going up against players with considerably more tournament experience, he prides himself on a meticulous work ethic and considers himself to be mentally strong and confident.

The disease taught him much about life and confirmed his love of golf. It did not, however, change his tendency to be a perfectionist, which means that anything short of winning the series would be a let down. “Career wise, it would mean everything to me,” he said of winning Big Break Prince Edward Island. “It would give me the opportunity to pursue my dream of making a living by playing tournament golf.”

Skatell’s love of the game started with his father, who gave him his first set of clubs when he was 11. After high school, he attended the University of Pittsburgh in Greensburg, PA and then moved to Palm Beach, Fla. to work in the golf industry and enter the PGA Program. This led to his job working at Palm Beach Gardens Golf Course and The Breakers in Palm Beach, where he did everything involving the daily operations of running a golf course.

Clearly, Skatell wants to make a career playing golf. However, regardless of what happens in Big Break Prince Edward Island, he has already won the biggest battle of his life.

• Hometown: Oshawa, Ontario
• Birthday: 7/6/78
• College: University of Arizona
• Interests: Beer, Food and Women
• Family: Single

Competing in Big Break Prince Edward Island is an opportunity that Derek Gillespie never thought he would need. By this time in his nine-year professional career, he envisioned playing on the PGA TOUR and maybe winning a tournament by this point.

The only Canadian cast in the series, Gillespie has been touted as the next great Canadian golfer by fellow countryman and 2003 Masters winner Mike Weir. One of the most talented and experienced in the series, Gillespie looks to finally break through and realize his dream.

“My golf game right now is permanently on the Canadian Tour, and it seems like it has been since day one,” he said. “When I turned professional, I honestly thought that I would breeze right through Q-School, but eight years later here I am on Big Break.”

He has all the credentials. A heralded junior in Canada, Gillespie played on the 1995 and 1996 Canadian Junior National Teams and was named the top golfer in Ontario the same two years. While at the University of Arizona, he was the only freshman to play every tournament on a team that consisted of PGA TOUR winner Rory Sabbatini and Gary Mathews (now Camilo Villegas’ caddie). He was named to the Pac-10 Conference Team twice and inducted into the University of Arizona Golf Hall of Fame in 2000.

Gillespie declared himself a professional on the Tuesday of the 2000 Bell Canadian Open, where he was tied for 42nd. Since that point, he has won twice on the Canadian Tour but has failed to advance to the finals of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament.

Discouraged with his career path, he seriously considered quitting the game after the 2006 season but eventually realized that golf was his calling. Now, he just wants to put an end to his mini-tour journey. “Obviously I love the game, but it doesn’t make financial sense if you are on the mini-tours,” said the Ontario native. “The last thing I want to do is play the mini-tours the rest of my life. I just want to live a life and make decent money, and that is tough to do playing where I have been playing.”

Supremely confident and sometimes cocky, Gillespie is a guy’s guy. How can anyone who lists beer, food and women as interests be anything else? The question is how this Matthew McConaughey cool works in a competition comprised of both men and women. “I’m a ladies man. With it being co-ed, hopefully I can dwindle the ladies out of the competition and leave me standing,” he said half kiddingly.

The 11 other contestants find nothing funny about Gillespie's game. “He has won on the Canadian Tour and walks around like Rico Suave sauntering to the putting green or to his next shot,” said Kim Kouwabunpat. “He looks very calm and is a confident player.”

While Big Break Prince Edward Island is not where he wants to be at this juncture of his career, Gillespie is savvy enough to understand that playing in the series can take him where he should have been all along.

• Hometown: Glen Ridge, N.J.
• Home Golf Course: Glen Ridge Country Club, Glen Ridge, N.J.
• Birthday: 10/16/78
• College: Seton Hall University
• Interests: Reading
• Family: Single

Self-doubt stinks. It is especially foul on a golf course while playing for rent money. Just ask Eugene Smith, who admits his love/hate relationship with golf is directly attributed to his shaky mental game. He calls himself a “mental midget” and wonders whether he needs to stop being so hard on himself.

And that is coming from someone who was the Seton Hall University Athlete of the Year as a senior in 2001, and has shot 59 at his home course, Glen Ridge Country Club. Based on just these two accomplishments alone, he should have an abundance of confidence. Often, though, his temper alters his perception of events.

“Under pressure I try to remain calm and take everything as it comes to me. But I tend to get a little fiery when I hit bad shots,” said Smith, who has played on the Canadian Tour since 2004. “I will let a few choice words go every once in a while. I try to avoid it, but it just comes out. When I get under pressure, I sometimes feel that I am not in my body and am watching myself play. You just kind of go with it, and sometimes it can hurt you.”

Quiet and reserved off the course, it is surprising that his temper is a detriment.

“He doesn’t say that much, but when he talks you can tell he is sincere,” said Big Break Prince Edward Island contestant Gerina Mendoza. “He is the type that if you hit a bad shot will tell you it is okay or pat you on the back after a good one.”

Smith has the potential for fireworks, but is also one of the most talented and affable competitors on Big Break Prince Edward Island. The question is whether his talent will overcome his confidence issue. If so, he will earn the $100,000 winner's paycheck and ease his financial burden. If not, it is back to the bag room at PGA National and the various caddie jobs he works to finance his PGA TOUR dream.

Smith has been swinging a golf club since the age of three when he used to tag along with his father to the driving range. At age 10, he decided he wanted to play golf for a living and by the age of 14, was shooting in the 70’s to win junior championships.

After high school, Smith earned a scholarship from his hometown school of Seton Hall University, where he won the NCAA Big East Championship in 2000. After the championship, he was named the school’s Athlete of the Year. Smith had no idea he had won the award and wasn’t going to attend the awards ceremony. At the last minute, a friend convinced him to go and, much to his surprise, he won the award.

Should Smith win Big Break Prince Edward Island, few would be shocked. And that would be one ceremony he would not have to be talked into attending.

• Hometown: Seekonk, Mass.
• Home Golf Course: Crestwood Country Club, Rehoboth, Mass.
• Birthday: 11/27/78
• College: Bryant College
• Interests: Power Lifting, Martial Arts and Movies
• Family: Single

Robert Read may bring a two-drink minimum to Big Break Prince Edward Island. A comic who has a penchant for bombing drives, a cable bill is a small price to see this true original in action.

A self described “Altoid” (not only delicious but curiously strong), he sees his role in the series as someone who can keep things light but also will bring the “thunder and lighting.” He is quick to add that everyone knows what happens when those two forces collide. “My game is exciting because I tend to put a lot of effort into hitting the ball. Sometimes it goes right down the middle and sometimes it leads me to places that no one else can go,” Read explained. “Half the fun is watching me recover from one of those shots.”

No, the fun will be listening to Read. An amateur prior to competing in Big Break, he mischievously says that he turned professional because “sometimes you have to charge for your services.” Bodda Bing. And for the record, he wants fans to know that bright lights make the series’ interview sessions resemble being in a tanning booth without the goggles. Thanks folks, and don’t forget to tip your waitress.

“He is just a funny guy,” said fellow Big Break Prince Edward Island competitor Blair O’Neal. “Even if it is something that you shouldn’t say, when it comes out of his mouth you get a good laugh because he is so hilarious.”

Read will either have the entire cast in stitches or have them covering their ears from the sound of Read’s tee shots, having measured over 420 yards in long drive competitions. Baseball was a source of inspiration for him as a child, and his raw power off the tee is generated by a swing more David Ortiz than Tiger Woods.

Unlike many of the other contestants, Read never stepped foot on a golf course until the ninth grade. When not watching or playing hip sports such as baseball or football, he played golf with his father and grandfather a few times a year as a source of male bonding and camaraderie. During those boy’s outings, he would go all “Big Papi” on them and crank out 290-yard tee shots. His family nudged Read towards the range where he started consistently hitting the “bejezus” out of the ball.

From there, he took his game to the course (and eventually the putting greens) where he found his scores continually dropping. Now a professional, you can find him playing money games at his local course, Crestwood Country Club in Rehoboth, Mass., where he shoots in the 60's.

Read’s one thought about playing in Big Break Prince Edward Island is “Don’t leave anything on the table.” He is serious when talking about his goal because to him there is nothing funny about his desire to one day play on the PGA TOUR. And that dream is about the only thing that he will not try to make you laugh about.

• Hometown: South Hill, Va.
• Home Golf Course: South Hill Country Club, South Hill, Va.
• Birthday: 4/11/86
• College: Virginia Commonwealth University
• Interests: Hunting, Fishing and Boating
• Family: Single

Think William Thompson isn’t country? Equally at home hunting deer as making birdies, his friends call him "Football," and he routinely sports a pinch of tobacco between his cheek and gum. And another thing, next to winning Big Break Prince Edward Island, nothing would be greater to him than sharing a deer stand with PGA TOUR good ol’ boy and media darling Boo Weekley. They wouldn't have to go too far; Thompson said it would be fine if the trip was to only his backyard.

But first, he has a golf competition to tend to before putting the dogs in the truck.

"I'm going to show people that country boys can play this game," Thompson said with a thick Virginia drawl. "You can hit balls in a cow pasture and learn to put it close to the pins."

Solid logic, but it does make you wonder if the cows would hold "Hush Y'all" signs. Either way, Thompson learned to hit it close enough to the cow chips to win the 2003 Virginia State Junior Amateur and earn a spot on the golf team at Virginia Commonwealth University, a place he left after three years because "School for [him] was like brothers and sisters… they just don’t get along."

If Hank Williams Jr. is correct and country boys can survive, then Thompson will be okay. Otherwise, he has a chore ahead to keep his golf dream alive. After his first professional event in 2007 on the Tarheel Tour, Thompson’s sponsors withdrew their financial support. With lingering thoughts of quitting, he raised funds to play a few more events, the last of which was a tournament in Virginia where he auditioned for Big Break Prince Edward Island.

That is why his Big Break appearance will either play out like a chapter in his budding career or the last chorus of a sad country song.

“When I think of Big Break, I think of reality golf and real people coming from real situations to become real winners,” said Thompson. “Winning Big Break to me would be like a PGA TOUR player winning the U.S. Open.”

The self-described token redneck in the series, he also will tell you he has game. A baseball player who gave golf a try after noticing Tiger Woods’ knack for winning tournaments and making history, Thompson shaped his game by hitting balls in his granddaddy’s garden and later on small courses where he honed a short game that would be the envy of a TOUR player.

Look at Thompson, or merely hear him speak, and there is a resemblance to Weekley. Watch him play, and the two share a knack for what is termed “ballstriking” by the country club set. Thompson takes the comparisons as a compliment and considers the two-time PGA TOUR winner and recent Ryder Cupper an inspiration.

Should Thompson win Big Break Prince Edward Island, maybe a few fans will call Weekley “Football.” Then again, maybe not. But it sure would give the two something to talk about on a hunting trip.

• Hometown: Tempe, Ariz.
• Home Golf Course: Arizona State Karsten Golf Course, Tempe, Ariz.
• Birthday: 5/14/81
• College: Arizona State University
• Interests: Yoga, Hiking, and spending time with friends
• Family: Single

Blair O'Neal's alma mater, Arizona State, was only days away from playing one its most important football games of the year, one that would be viewed by a national television audience on ABC Sports. Fans were in frenzy, and everyone was wondering if the Sun Devils would have a statement game against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Another country away on the set of Big Break Prince Edward Island, O'Neal was oblivious to the game being played, something strange for a fan who has played quarterback for the Phoenix Scorch in the Lingerie Bowl. Instead, her singular focus was making a statement pronouncing that she is concerned more with fairways than runways.

A four-year starter and two-time NCAA Long Drive champion at Arizona State, O'Neal ultimately has made more noise as a model than as a golfer. Last year, she was honored as “One of the Hottest 50 Athletes of All-Time” by Sports Illustrated magazine and also made it to the final four in the “World’s Hottest Female Athlete” online poll put on by Sports Illustrated and InGameNow.com. In addition, she has appeared on runways, print ads, catalogs, magazine covers and commercial advertisements all over the U.S. and Asia.

O’Neal’s dual career journey began when with her first modeling job two months after graduating college in December of 2003. While modeling to pay the bills, she played various tours around the world until finishing eighth at the Duramed FUTURES Tour Qualifying Tournament to earn exempt status on the circuit. During her travels, she was moderately successful on the course but continually stressed off it. “I spent a lot of time worried about how I was going to pay for everything,” O’Neal remembers.

Her 2005 season ended abruptly after breaking her foot walking down stairs. Not only did the injury cost her part of the season on the Duramed FUTURES Tour, but she missed competing in the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. “I really believe everything happens for a reason, and I stayed positive. I’m usually a very positive player, by nature,” she said about the events that turned her focus to modeling.

An athletic 5' 10" frame has been an equal asset in both career endeavors. However, determination and focus are her best characteristics. “I get into what I call ‘Blair Golf’ when I'm in my own bubble," said O’Neal, who first set the goal of playing on the LPGA Tour when she was age 11. "I'm just into my own world and focus on myself and my game. I am confident and people can see that."

Other competitors in Big Break Prince Edward Island quickly learned that she was someone to watch instead of merely look at. “She comes in a beautiful package but she is not just a pretty face,” said Nicole Sikora. “That girl can stripe it.”

For the record, Arizona State lost to Georgia. It remains to be seen if O’Neal will have the same fate or if Big Break Prince Edward Island will get her off the pages of fashion magazines and onto the cover of golf publications.

• Hometown: Belfast, Ireland
• Home Golf Course: Fort William Golf Club, Belfast, Northern Ireland
• Birthday: 6/01/83
• College: College of Charleston
• Interests: Music
• Family: Single

With Brenda McLarnon competing in Big Break Prince Edward Island, the leaves at River Mill Golf Club are not the only colorful thing on the course. An Irish lass who can make you thirsty just talking to her, she is as comfortable with a pint in her hand as a putter. And like a number on a scorecard defining success, she leaves no room for interpretation.

“People will probably hate me, but that’s their problem,” said the Belfast, Ireland native. “I don’t care what people think of me. If you don’t like me, that’s your loss!”

That wasn’t a gust of wind blowing through the pub… it’s McLarnon. While headstrong and independent, a self-deprecating humor and sincere honesty make her easily likeable and a fun hang. Just don’t try to tell her what to do. A competitive Irish dancer – something close to a birthright in Ireland– from the time she took her first steps, she grew tired of the sport because she hated having judges decide her fate.

McLarnon veered further from the expected by deciding to leave Northeast Ireland due to the constant cold, damp climate and used golf as the escape vehicle. At the age of 14, she picked up a golf club with hopes of a better, warmer life in the United States and to one day earn a collegiate golf scholarship. After playing golf for only four years, in 2001 she was off to South Carolina and the College of Charleston. There, she recorded one win and was a contributing member of the 2002 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Women's Golf Championship team. One year later, McLarnon finished third in the NJCAA Women's Golf Championship.

“I loved playing golf,” said McLarnon, who now calls Charleston, S.C. home. “I am the only one judging my performance.”

Throughout college, she gave professional golf little thought until watching her former college roommate play in a Duramed FUTURES Tour event. “It just looked like so much fun.” she said. “I thought, if my roommate could do it, I could too.”

And to a point she has. Successful enough to have qualified to compete on the Duramed FUTURES Tour the last three years, she has learned hard lessons about the organization and dedication needed to succeed in professional golf. “This stuff is hard” said McLarnon, whose best finish as a professional is a tie for 28th. “It is the most difficult thing I have ever had to do. I never thought in a million years that playing golf for a living would be so hard.”

Adjusting to the competition, off the course as well as on, has presented problems. “We play the tournaments on the weekends and the rest of the time I’m traveling around with a bunch of girls,” said McLarnon, who will once again compete on the Duramed FUTURES Tour in 2009. “There’s way too much drama out on tour!”

No disrespect intended, it’s just McLarnon’s version of the unfiltered truth, and she would have it no other way.

• Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden
• Home Golf Course: Stockholm Golf Club
• Birthday: 1/23/84
• College: Florida State University
• Interests: Skiing, Shopping, Friends and Fitness
• Family: Single

A happy and gregarious person, Caroline Larsson loves playing golf. A smile here and laugh there is her approach to the game, and between giggles, she will toss a few birdies at you. Who wouldn’t be happy doing that?

“When people first meet me many of them are surprised that I am so outgoing since I am from Sweden,” said Larsson, who finished 23rd on the Duramed FUTURES Tour money list last year. “I guess people think all Swedes are shy.”

Possessing the best credentials of the six females competing in Big Break Prince Edward Island, Larsson is one of the favorites to capture the $100,000 winner’s paycheck. “I’m a very competitive person when it comes to something that is important to me,” she said. “Some people see me as a very bubbly person who puts on a game face in competition. I have always been strong mentally, and that is important in this game.”

The game has been important to Larsson since she started playing golf at age four and started dreaming about playing professionally. Talented and determined, her focus intensified after qualifying to play a junior tournament with the 12-year-olds when she was only 10 years old. Two years later, she attended a bilingual high school in hopes of moving to the United States to pursue a career on the LPGA. She earned more opportunities to play events for the Swedish National Team in the European Championship, the Italian Open Championship, the Finnish Open Championship, and the French Open Championship.

At Florida State University, Larsson earned All-ACC honors as a sophomore in 2004 and is one of only 13 All-ACC selections in school history. Outside of golf, though, college life wasn’t easy. The first day of classes also was the first day she actually lived in the United States. As if the culture shock wasn’t enough, she said living in the dorms was the most difficult part of college, mostly because the food was terrible. “I actually lost weight my freshman year,” Larsson laughs at the memory.

A perfectionist, Larsson is driven by her tenacity to reach her expectations. After graduating from FSU in 2006 with a 4.0 GPA, she turned her sights toward the Duramed FUTURES Tour, where she had a successful rookie year on tour, even though it was not up to her personal standards. After placing T-9 in her first tournament, she was unsatisfied with her tournament total, only 1-under-par. “I can shoot so much lower than that,” said Larsson, who competed in the 2007 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. “If something means a lot to me, I’m going to go all out and put every bit of effort I can into it.”

Make no mistake; Big Break Prince Edward Island is important to her. While you may see her smile and laugh on the course, she will be focused on taking the next step towards achieving her dream.

• Hometown: Roswell, N.M.
• Home Golf Course: Sherrill Park Golf Course, New Mexico Military Golf Course
• Birthday: 3/29/84
• College: University of Texas – El Paso
• Interests: Sports, Outdoors, Drawing, Rock Band and Spending time with family
• Family: Single

Touring golf professionals like Gerina Mendoza make weekend golfers roll their eyes. She didn’t start playing golf until her late teens, and now she is on the verge of playing on the LPGA Tour. They have a word for her game: natural.

The first object Mendoza swung as a child was not a golf club but a baseball bat, courtesy of growing up with older brothers and feeling the need to fit in with the guys. At age 12, with pressure from her mother to give up baseball and from her stepfather to take up golf, her interest switched from the base paths to the fairways. Playing with the boys, though, is something she will never outgrow. Her weekend matches are normally against males, and half the field in Big Break Prince Edward Island will be men.

“Growing up I played baseball against the boys, and I just seem to compete a little harder against guys,” said Mendoza. “They are a little more serious than girls and that helped me a lot in college. It has always been my thing because I feel like I get along with them better.”

Only three years after taking up the game, she competed in her first tournament in high school, and her game rapidly improved. By her senior year, she shot rounds in the 70’s to win the New Mexico High School State tournament, and was offered a full golf scholarship to the University of Texas – El Paso.

In college, her accolades continued to grow when she won the Conference USA Women’s Golf Championship and was named UTEP’s Female Athlete of the Year. The achievements helped her prepare for life on the Duramed FUTURES Tour, where she finished 15th on the 2008 money list and played in the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.

Length off the tee will make her a force to be reckoned with in Big Break Prince Edward Island, not only for the girls, but for the guys as well. Super competitive and always sarcastic, she hopes that the other competitors will not misunderstand her motives.

“You really don’t talk about competition with girls because girls are really sensitive and get their feelings hurt,” Mendoza said about competing against both men and women in the series. “[With] guys, you can just let loose and really talk crap to each other. You can have a good time and really get into a competitive match.”

One thing that cannot be misinterpreted is that while Mendoza has a short history in the game, her future indicates she will be someone to watch for a long time.

• Hometown: Upland, Calif.
• Home Golf Course: Red Hill Country Club, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
• Birthday: 10/11/81
• College: Stanford University
• Interests: Running, Fitness, Exotic Cuisine and Piano
• Family: Single

When asked about her role in Big Break Prince Edward Island, Kim Kouwabunpat (pronounced “Kowa boon pat”) said she was somewhat cheesy, but a sweet lovable girl who listens to "Journey". But added, when it is time to tee it up, it is game on.

“Working hard to get my fill. Everybody wants a thrill. Paying anything to roll the dice just one more time.” - Don’t Stop Believing (Journey)

Focused and driven, Kouwabunpat is a wild card that may either sneak up on the competition in the series, or declare that she’s one to beat. She’s played on professional tours all over the world but, like most in the series, is battling to make it financially. "We are on a shoe-string budget hoping to win so we can travel to the next event," Kouwabunpat said of the financial burden that winning Big Break could relieve.

Money, though, is not the sole object of her desire. Kouwabunpat is cheesy in a good-hearted fashion. She’s the type who gives an "I love you" speech when reunited with friends. She is caring enough to start Dream Chasers, a concept that embodies her life philosophy and encourages kids to find their passion and make a living of it. "My goal to reach the LPGA is more than just wanting to compete against the best. I not only want to give something back to everybody who has helped me, but to society as well,” she explains. “I want to inspire young ones to chase after their dreams no matter what the limitations may be. Anything is possible if you have a lot of heart, dedication, focus, and perseverance.”

A self described gym rat, Kouwabunpat loves working out and can’t imagine her life without golf. Golf, though, has not always returned the favor. In 2005, she made only one cut on the Duramed FUTURES Tour and was left with such low status that the following year she decided it wasn’t worth flying to each event. Instead, she competed on the Cactus Tour and Canadian Women’s Tour, where she lost a playoff in her first event. In 2007, she lived in Bangkok to play professionally on the Ladies Asian Golf Tour.

“Don´t stop believing. Hold on to the feeling.”

In her fourth year as a professional, Kouwabunpat has rededicated herself by working with a golf-specific physical trainer and new swing coach. The move paid off when she finished second to Dana Bates (a former Big Break contestant) in the Oroville Pro-Am Classic to collect $3,000, the biggest professional check of her career. One week later she won the Santa Barbara Open.

“My passion is golf,” said Kouwabunpat, who was selected twice for the All Pac-10 Conference Team while playing at Stanford University. “I’m playing Big Break because it is a step closer to my goals and dreams of playing on the LPGA Tour. I thrive off the adrenaline rush. It is something that you can’t replace at anytime except under the pressure of competition.”

• Hometown: Valley Cottage, N.Y.
• Home Golf Course: Mount Branch Golf Club, Joppa, Md.
• Birthday: 4/25/83
• College: Saint Thomas Aquinas College
• Interests: Dancing, Singing and Movies
• Family: Single

Nicole Sikora loves a challenge. How else would you explain working on Wall Street in a bleak economic period that is worse than trailing Tiger Woods by three shots?

In Big Break Prince Edward Island, Sikora will face a bigger challenge. One of the most inexperienced competitors in the series, she will attempt to beat players who have won on various Tours around the world.

“I’m a competitor and am playing Big Break to win,” said Sikora, who is an executive assistant to the president of the broker dealer division at a prominent hedge fund in New York City. “I might not have the longest resume with all these wins under my belt, but I am a fighter. There is so much more to someone than what is on a piece of paper. You have to go out there and be able to perform. I was a professional golfer and people might have forgotten.”

Some would say her stint on the Duramed FUTURES Tour in 2007 was forgettable, but Sikora insists that it was a positive experience even though she did not cash a check.

“I can see how to others it looked like an unsuccessful year, however it was anything but unsuccessful,” said Sikora, who was featured in the Golf Digest Japan World Ladies of Golf calendar in 2006 and 2007. “I was competing against girls who had been playing their whole lives. After a few tournaments, I had the second lowest round at the Illinois Classic - which proved that with time I could be a fierce competitor.”

After the 2007 season, a new challenge presented itself when Sikora interviewed with a New York stock broker. Light on experience, she was heavy on a positive attitude and self-confidence, which ultimately won her the job. While loving the power that came with the opportunity, the all-consuming endeavor left little time for golf. However, now that her business career is on the fast track, she is slowly finding more time to re-devote to the game by playing almost every weekend.

A lack of practice and professional experience may have left her game rusty, but she has a history of setting lofty goals and achieving them. A member of the women’s team at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, N.Y., academics were the priority, and her main goal was to become valedictorian of her graduating class. "That’s how I am…when I set a goal, I must go towards the highest goal possible,” said Sikora, who graduated with a 4.0 to achieve her goal. “A word to describe me is driven. I haven’t been playing golf my whole life and look where I am sitting.”

With such determination, Sikora winning Big Break Prince Edward Island is not out of the realm of possibility. Now, if she could just do something about the economy.

Charlie Rymer

Co-Host

A native of Fort Mill, South Carolina, Charlie Rymer has been treating golf fans to his quick wit and “down home” humor as a sports commentator for ESPN since 1998. He has contributed to Golf Channel programming as an analyst for many years, appearing on Golf Central, The Grey Goose 19th Hole and The Approach with Callaway Golf. In 2008, Rymer hosted of the hit show Road Trip: Myrtle Beach where he provided instructional tips and entertainment to viewers. The show was reinvented online in 2009 as a GolfChannel.com original “webisode” series, Charlie Rymer’s Ultimate Road Trip to Myrtle Beach, where Host Rymer featured clips from the TV show and Myrtle Beach destination highlights. He also hosted a series of GolfChannel.com video blogs highlighting several Top 5 features in Myrtle Beach.

Relying on his experiences on the PGA TOUR, Rymer uses his views on life and golf to entertain audiences all over the world. After graduating as a two-time All-American at Georgia Tech, Charlie spent over 10 years playing professional golf and recorded his best finish on tour with a third-place finish at the Shell Houston Open in 1995. He also shot a 61 at the 1996 Byron Nelson Classic and proudly won the 1994 Nationwide Tour South Carolina Classic.

Charlie Rymer Related Links:
www.charlierymer.com
www.mydgolf.com
www.intrepidsports.com

Stina Sternberg

Co-Host

Golf Digest Senior Editor Stina Sternberg is a life-long golfer who started her career as a teaching pro and professional clubfitter, then became equipment editor of Golf For Women magazine. A Golf Writers Association of America award-winning writer, Sternberg heads up Golf Digest’s women’s-golf overage, pens a column called “Ask Stina” and is a member of Golf Digest’s equipment panel as one of four judges of the Golf Digest Hot List. In addition to her publishing job, Sternberg launched her U.S. television career in 2004 when she became the host of “Two Days in Paradise,” a travel segment on USA Network’s weekly show PGA Tour Sunday. In 2006, she took over the hosting reins on Golf Channel’s travel show Golf With Style: Global Challenge and performed a regular stint as “The Gizmo Girl” on ESPN2’s morning show Cold Pizza. In 2007, she became one of three judges on GC’s new reality show Fore Inventors Only and began co-hosting Golf Channel’s most popular competition show, The Big Break.

Born and raised in Sweden, Sternberg supplemented her schooling with working in her father’s golf shops on weekends and holidays from the age of 14. She moved to the U.S. in 1991 to study English at Fairfield University, then went back home to spend 1993 as host and field reporter for the Sportnytt sports show on Swedish Network Television in Stockholm. In the years following, she returned to the States to work as a freelance New York correspondent for Swedish television and radio while running her own golf shop and indoor teaching center in Westport, CT (she was a member of the PGA of Sweden’s teaching division from 1996 to 2000). In 1999, she sold her business and became equipment editor for GFW in New York, where she stayed for nine years before moving to Golf Digest.

Sternberg currently resides in Connecticut with her husband and son.