The Big Break VI: Trump National

Last updated
The Big Break VI: Trump National
TheBigBreakVI.jpg
Hosted by Vince Cellini
Stephanie Sparks
WinnerDenny Hepler
Briana Vega
Location Trump National Golf Club, Los Angeles, California
No. of episodes12
Release
Original releaseSeptember 26 (2006-09-26) 
December 19, 2006 (2006-12-19)
Additional information
Filming datesJune 2006 (2006-06) 
July 2006 (2006-07)
Season chronology

The Big Break VI: Trump National was the sixth edition of The Golf Channel's reality television series, The Big Break . The show awards exemptions into selected events on major professional golf tours.

Contents

This is the first time the show was held at a course in California: Donald Trump's Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles. Trump made a cameo appearance in the season premiere, in addition to appearing periodically throughout the show. This is also the first mixed-gender edition of the show. Nine men and nine women competed for exemptions onto the Champions Tour and LPGA Tour, respectively. The two Champions Tour events the men competed to qualify for were the Turtle Bay Championship and the Bank of America Championship, while the two LPGA events the women competed for entry into were the SBS Open at Turtle Bay and the Longs Drugs Challenge.

The show was taped in June and July 2006, and premiered on September 26, 2006 with the matchplay final broadcast on December 19, 2006.

Contestants

Women

ContestantAgeHometownStatus
Rachel Bailey25 Faulconbridge, New South Wales, Australia Futures Tour player
Bridget Dwyer 25 Kailua, Hawaii Futures Tour player
Ashley Gomes23 Pleasanton, California Western Athletic Conference individual champion at San Jose State University; Futures Tour player
Sarah Lynn Johnston24 St. Charles, Illinois Futures Tour player; Qualified for 2007 LPGA Tour exempt status after filming of The Big Break VI.
Laura London25 Scottsdale, Arizona Played on Futures Tour from 1999 to 2001
Annie Mallory23 Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada Futures Tour player
Kristy McPherson 25 Conway, South Carolina Futures Tour player; Qualified for 2007 LPGA Tour exempt status after filming of The Big Break VI
Karyn Stordahl-Utecht25 Prior Lake, Minnesota Former player for the University of Minnesota; 2005 Miss Minnesota
Briana Vega23 North Andover, Massachusetts Futures Tour player; Winner of 2004 Women's Golf Association of Massachusetts Amateur Championship

Men

ContestantAgeHometownStatus
Sid Corliss56 Cumming, Georgia Sun Belt Senior Tour player
Albert Crews54 Homer, Louisiana Qualified for 2005 U.S. Senior Open
Charlie Gibson52 Windsor, California Former All-American at Arizona State University
Denny Hepler50 Warsaw, Indiana Former Malaysian Open winner
Jeff Mitchell 51 Frisco, Texas 1980 Phoenix Open winner; 1980 first round co-leader at The Masters; former Texas Tech Red Raiders player and head coach
Kelly Murray50 Reston, Virginia Holds world record for longest recorded drive (684.8 yards)
Gary Ostrega52 Westfield, New Jersey Played on the PGA Tour from 1977 to 1979
Rocky Rockett54 Gastonia, North Carolina Sun Belt Senior Tour all-time leading money winner
Gavin Slabbert51 Orange Park, Florida Heartland Tour player

Ages are as of the time The Big Break VI was filmed in July 2006.

Elimination Chart

ContestantEp. 1Ep. 21Ep. 3Ep. 4Ep. 52Ep. 6Ep. 7Ep. 8Ep. 9Ep. 10Ep. 11
BriLOWWINHIGHWINWINININWINLOWWIN4WIN6
DennyWINININWINININLOWLOWLOWWIN5OUT
BridgetINININWINWINININLOWWINOUT
Jeff WINININWININLOWINWINWINOUT
RachelINININLOWWINININWINOUT
GaryINININLOWINININWINOUT
AshleyWINININWINWINININOUT
CharlieININOUTWIN3HIGHOUT
LauraININHIGHLOWWININOUT
KellyLOWWINHIGHWINININOUT
AlbertWININHIGHLOWINOUT
SarahWINLOWLOWOUT
RockyINLOWLOWOUT
KristyWININOUT
AnnieLOWOUT
GavinLOWOUT
KarynOUT
SidOUT
  Pink indicates the contestant is a female.
  Blue indicates the contestant is a male.
  Green background and WIN means the contestant won matchplay final and The Big Break.
  Blue background and WIN means the contestant won immunity from the elimination challenge.
  Purple background and WIN means the contestant won the playback challenge and was back on the show.
  Light blue background and HIGH means the contestant had a higher score in the elimination challenge.
  White background and IN means the contestant had a good enough score in the elimination challenge to move onto the next episode.
  Orange background and LOW means the contestant had one of the lower scores for the elimination challenge.
  Gray background and IN means the contestant had the episode off and was therefore safe.
  Red background and OUT means the contestant was eliminated from the competition

Winners' exemption performances

Denny Hepler competed in the 2007 Turtle Bay Championship, played on the Palmer Course at the Turtle Bay Resort, Kahuku, Hawai'i, January 22–28. He finished tied for 72nd place, with a score of 222 (+6).

Briana Vega competed on her first sponsor's exemption in the 2007 SBS Open at Turtle Bay. She missed the cut and finished last, with a score of 161 (+17). Fellow BBVI competitors and 2007 LPGA exempt rookies Kristy McPherson and Sarah Lynn Sargent also played in the tournament; McPherson missed the cut and finished with a +5 150, while Sargent made the cut and finished tied for 73rd place with a score of 225 (+9).

Related Research Articles

Michelle Wie West American professional golfer

Michelle Sung Wie West is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship. Wie also became the youngest winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and the youngest to qualify for an LPGA Tour event. She turned professional shortly before her 16th birthday in 2005, accompanied by an enormous amount of publicity and endorsements. She won her first and only major at the 2014 U.S. Women's Open.

<i>The Big Break</i>

The Big Break is a reality television program broadcast by the Golf Channel. The show's premise was to award an aspiring professional golfer exemptions into selected events or full-season exemptions on lower-level tours. The series debuted on October 6, 2003.

Natalie Gulbis American professional golfer

Natalie Anne Gulbis is an American professional golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour.

Symetra Tour

The Symetra Tour, previously known as the LPGA Futures Tour and known for sponsorship reasons between 2006 and 2010 as the Duramed Futures Tour, is the official developmental golf tour of the LPGA Tour. Tour membership is open to professional women golfers and to qualified amateurs.

The ADT Championship was a women's professional golf tournament on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. The season-ending event on the tour, it became the LPGA Playoffs at The ADT from 2006 through 2008.

<i>The Big Break V: Hawaii</i> Season of television series

The Big Break V: Hawaii was the fifth edition of The Golf Channel's reality television competition program, The Big Break. The show's premise is to award aspiring golf professionals exemptions into event on major tours, eliminating one contestant each week through a series of challenges until only one player is left.

Brittany Lincicome American golfer

Brittany Grace Lincicome is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She currently resides in Gulfport, Florida.

<i>The Big Break IV: USA vs. Europe</i> Season of television series

The Big Break IV: USA vs. Europe was filmed in June 2005, and premiered on September 13 of the same year. The twelve hopefuls were taken to Scotland's Carnoustie, and the Old Course in St Andrews to compete for exemptions into two European Tour events, an endorsement deal with Bridgestone Golf, a two-year lease on a Ford Explorer, and a $5,000 gift card from Dick's Sporting Goods. The Golf Channel made this a competition between players from the United States and Europe, much like the Ryder Cup. Vince Cellini and Stephanie Sparks returned as hosts.

<i>The Big Break III: Ladies Only</i> Season of television series

The Big Break III: Ladies Only is the third installment of The Golf Channel's reality series, The Big Break. This installment first aired on February 8, 2005. The show was filmed in October 2004 at the Kingsmill Resort and Spa just outside Williamsburg, Virginia. The winner of this edition would receive exemptions into two LPGA events and a celebrity tournament in 2005, not all of which aired on The Golf Channel. Also, a leading golf retailer, Golf Galaxy, was offering $5,000 so that the winning player could purchase whatever they need for the LPGA events, such as new clubs or other accessories. The first of those three tournaments was the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill, held at the golf resort where the show was filmed. The Michelob ULTRA Open is commonly referred to as the LPGA's "fifth major," much like The Players Championship is for the PGA Tour.

<i>The Big Break II</i> Season of television series

The Big Break II first aired on September 27, 2004. The majority of the series was filmed at the Stallion Mountain Country Club in Las Vegas, though the matchplay final was held at Vegas' Bali Hai Golf Club. The winner of this edition picked up exemptions into four selected Nationwide Tour events in 2005, a $10,000 cash prize, and a new Ford Five Hundred.

The Big Break I was the first round of The Big Break, the Golf Channel's reality television program. The show's premise is to award an aspiring professional golfer exemptions into selected events or full-season exemptions on certain tours. The series debuted on October 6, 2003.

The Big Break VII: Reunion at Reunion featured sixteen competitors from previous seasons of The Big Break returning to compete for PGA, Champions and LPGA Tour exemptions at the Reunion Resort & Club in Orlando, Florida. The series premiered on The Golf Channel on February 25, 2007 and was won by Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey, who originally competed on The Big Break IV: USA vs. Europe.

Lori Atsedes is an American professional golfer. She was the all-time career money leader on the Futures Tour.

Kristy McPherson American professional golfer (born 1981)

Kristy McPherson is an American professional golfer, currently playing on the LPGA Tour.

Brittany Lang American golfer

Brittany Lang is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She has won one major championship, the 2016 U.S. Women's Open.

Ryann OToole American professional golfer

Ryann Ashley O'Toole is an American female professional golfer currently playing on the LPGA Tour.

Big Break Ireland was the 16th edition of the Golf Channel reality show, The Big Break. It was contested in the K Club in Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland. It premiered on September 20, 2011. The eventual winner of the show was Mark Murphy, who won $50,000 and two exemptions to European Tour events, the Trophée Hassan II and the Irish Open.

Gerina Piller American professional golfer

Gerina Michelle Mendoza Piller is an American professional golfer, currently playing on the LPGA Tour. She turned pro in 2007 following a decorated career as a collegiate golfer at the University of Texas El Paso. In 2009, Mendoza appeared on the Golf Channel reality television competition The Big Break.

Kristina Engström Tucker is a Swedish professional golfer who played mainly on the United States-based Futures Tour.

2020 ANA Inspiration Golf tournament

The 2020 ANA Inspiration was the 49th ANA Inspiration LPGA golf tournament, held on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. Originally scheduled for April 2–5, the tournament was postponed to September 10–13, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was its 38th year as an LPGA major championship, and it was the second major of 2020 following the AIG Women's Open, held in August.