First Contestant Cashes in His Chips

Editor’s Note: The Golf Channel aired the second episode of “The Big Break II” Tuesday night, the network’s follow-up to its hit series from last fall where 10 highly skilled golfers compete in a weekly showdown of golf skills challenges. The last man standing after the 11-week season wins the Big Break of his golfing career - an opportunity to compete in four Nationwide Tour events televised on The Golf Channel in 2005.
 
As the players arose from a wild night at the Treasure Island casino, each one of them was well aware that by the time the sun set in the Nevada desert that evening, one player would be heading home.
 
Co-hosts Rick Smith and Lesley Swanson met the contestants on the range at the Stallion Mountain Country Club and again reminded them just how big the stakes were –four Nationwide Tour exemptions, $10,000 in cash and a brand new Ford 500. They also let them in on what was in store for the first day of real competition and how the format was going to be set up.
 
Each week the players will face three separate challenges – a skills challenge, a mulligan challenge and then the all-important elimination challenge. The winner of the skills challenge will be done for the day, immune from elimination and safe for another week.
 
The rest of the players then compete in the Top-Flite Mulligan Challenge were they play for an extra shot in the elimination challenge that would ultimately send someone packing for home.
 
“It’s a pretty comfortable feeling knowing that if you can win the skills challenge you can sit down for the rest of the day,” remarked Jay McNair, a schoolteacher from Brandon, Fla.
 
For the first skills challenge a giant wall was erected in front of were the players were to hit, with the idea to force them to hit both a draw and a fade shot into a green about a 185-yards out. Each player’s shots were to then be measured as to how far they landed from the flagstick and the lowest total would be finished for the day.
 
“Getting out there and being creative, that’s the best part of the game for me,” said Mike Foster, Jr. of Savannah, Ga., about his prospects of what it took to win the shows first skills challenge.
 
“O.K., so you have to hit around (this big wall), how hard can that be? Well, it’s your first challenge of the show and you’re very nervous. Very, very nervous,” said Sean Daly from San Luis Obispo, Calif. “Anybody saying that they weren’t nervous are lying like dogs.”
 
After a variety of good and bad approach shots, it was Foster who stood alone on top at the end. On the strength of a beautiful shot to 4’ 9” of the flag, Foster could rest easy knowing he’d live to see another day.
 
“It was ridiculous how good 4’ 9” was. He just wiped us all off the map,” quipped Don Donatello about Foster’s strong performance.
 
It was then on to the Top-Flite Mulligan Challenge where an old favorite from the original series was brought back to decide who would get the extra shot in the Elimination Challenge. The competitors were to attempt a knock-down shot while trying to break a small, square plane of glass, sitting on a pole about four-feet high and 30-yards away.