"Big Break II": And the Winner Is ...
Tuesday December 14, 2004
The winner was crowned during the finale of "The Big Break II," when Kip Henley and Don Donatello squared off in a match-play match for all the marbles: four Nationwide Tour exemptions, a Ford 500 car and $10,000. Who gets the big break? To find out ...
As always, the "Big Break II" episode opens with the remaining players having breakfast in the penthouse. Kip says he slept like a baby, but Don is too nervous to finish his meal.
Don and Kip head to Bali Hai Golf Club for 18 holes of straight-up match play. The winner becomes "Big Break II" champion and takes home four Nationwide Tour exemptions and other goodies.
Both players open the first hole with perfect tee shots, solid approach shots and pars, but Kip goes 1-up on the second hole.
Holes 3 and 4 are halved. At No. 5, Kip's drive finds a fairway bunker, and his first attempt to play out of the bunker isn't successful. He is forced to pitch out, then go to the green. Don wins the hole and the match is all square.
Don birdies No. 6 to go 1-up, hole 7 is halved, then Don birdies No. 8 and takes a 2-up lead.
Kip gets one back on No. 8 after a great tee shot to the par-3 green. Don's lead is cut to 1-up. Nos. 10 and 11 are halved.
At No. 12, Don blocks his tee shot to the right fringe on the par-3, his ball coming to rest close to an area marked ground under repair. Don takes a stance and says that his foot is in the GUR, which means he gets relief. Kip disagrees, believing that Don is exaggerating his stance in order to get relief. Kip is upset, but doesn't push it. Don does take relief, and takes quite a long time to play the shot while Kip smolders behind the green. Kip says to the camera that he'll just have to forget about it make his birdie putt. Which does, pushing the match back to all square.
On No. 13, Kip sinks an 8-footer to win the hole and go 1-up. Don has a chance on 14 to square it, but misses a 5-footer.
Then at No. 14, Don blows up when his approach finds a greenside bunker. He angrily smashes his club into the ground. But he recovers with a great bunker shot and winds up winning the hole. The match is all square.
Don and Kip halve No. 16. At No. 17, Don's approach scoots off the back of the green and winds up sitting beneath a maintenance tractor parked behind the green. Don calls over a rules official, who says that before they can make a ruling on possible relief, the tractor will have to be moved. Don is upset, believing that the tire tracks from the tractor will ruin his putting line. "It's not fair, it's not fair at all," Don says.
The tractor is moved while Don fumes. The tractor does leave tire tracks near Don's ball, and after some deliberation Don is given a drop. Kip agrees with the ruling. After all that, the hole is halved, sending the match to 18 all square.
Don puts his approach shot on the green, but Kip's approach finds a bunker. However, Kip hits a terrific recovery shot. Don's 20-foot putt to win slides by. Kip's 4-footer goes in, leaving Don with about two feet. If he makes it, the match continues. If he misses, Kip wins. But Kip, in his voiceover, says, "If he missed that putt, it would kill him." On the green, Kip tells Don, "That's not right, you shouldn't have to putt that. Pick it up." Kip concedes Don's putt, and the match goes to extra holes.
On the 19th hole of the match, Don misses a downhill, 20-foot putt, leaving Kip a 12-foot putt for the win. Kip's putt is dead center, but stops right on the front edge of the cup.
The players move to the second extra hole, the 20th hole of the match. Don's drive is down the middle, and Kip bombs his drive down the right side of the fairway. Don's approach from 235 yards hits a bank off the right edge of the green and kicks onto the green. Kip's approach is from 170, and he puts his ball about 15 feet from the cup.
Don has a long putt that he leaves about 8 feet short. Kip's 12-footer is now for the win, but he misses. Don concedes the leftover. Now Don must make his 8-footer to extend the match. Kip tells his caddie there is no way Don will miss it.
But he does. The ball stops an inch short of the cup.
Kip Henley wins "The Big Break II."
In The Golf Channel studios, the 10 "Big Break II" contestants are reunited. Kip is presented with the keys to his Ford 500, a check for $10,000, and is told which Nationwide Tour events he'll be playing in. The four events are:
• Rheem Classic, May 12-15, in Fort Smith, Ark.
• Henrico County Open, May 19-22, in Richmond, Va.
• LaSalle Bank Open, June 9-12, in Glenview, Ill.
• Lake Erie Charity Classic, June 30-July 3, in Findley Lake, N.Y.
All night during the broadcast, The Golf Channel has been teasing a big twist to be revealed. Now, that twist is announced. Throughout the series, TheGolfChannel.com has been running a poll that asks the question, "Who do you think most deserves a big break?" The final results of that poll will be announced, and the winner will be back to take part in "The Big Break IV."
With 40-percent of the vote, Bart Lower is the winner. Bart is the first contestant for "The Big Break IV."
"Big Break II" homepage
As always, the "Big Break II" episode opens with the remaining players having breakfast in the penthouse. Kip says he slept like a baby, but Don is too nervous to finish his meal.
Don and Kip head to Bali Hai Golf Club for 18 holes of straight-up match play. The winner becomes "Big Break II" champion and takes home four Nationwide Tour exemptions and other goodies.
Both players open the first hole with perfect tee shots, solid approach shots and pars, but Kip goes 1-up on the second hole.
Holes 3 and 4 are halved. At No. 5, Kip's drive finds a fairway bunker, and his first attempt to play out of the bunker isn't successful. He is forced to pitch out, then go to the green. Don wins the hole and the match is all square.
Don birdies No. 6 to go 1-up, hole 7 is halved, then Don birdies No. 8 and takes a 2-up lead.
Kip gets one back on No. 8 after a great tee shot to the par-3 green. Don's lead is cut to 1-up. Nos. 10 and 11 are halved.
At No. 12, Don blocks his tee shot to the right fringe on the par-3, his ball coming to rest close to an area marked ground under repair. Don takes a stance and says that his foot is in the GUR, which means he gets relief. Kip disagrees, believing that Don is exaggerating his stance in order to get relief. Kip is upset, but doesn't push it. Don does take relief, and takes quite a long time to play the shot while Kip smolders behind the green. Kip says to the camera that he'll just have to forget about it make his birdie putt. Which does, pushing the match back to all square.
On No. 13, Kip sinks an 8-footer to win the hole and go 1-up. Don has a chance on 14 to square it, but misses a 5-footer.
Then at No. 14, Don blows up when his approach finds a greenside bunker. He angrily smashes his club into the ground. But he recovers with a great bunker shot and winds up winning the hole. The match is all square.
Don and Kip halve No. 16. At No. 17, Don's approach scoots off the back of the green and winds up sitting beneath a maintenance tractor parked behind the green. Don calls over a rules official, who says that before they can make a ruling on possible relief, the tractor will have to be moved. Don is upset, believing that the tire tracks from the tractor will ruin his putting line. "It's not fair, it's not fair at all," Don says.
The tractor is moved while Don fumes. The tractor does leave tire tracks near Don's ball, and after some deliberation Don is given a drop. Kip agrees with the ruling. After all that, the hole is halved, sending the match to 18 all square.
Don puts his approach shot on the green, but Kip's approach finds a bunker. However, Kip hits a terrific recovery shot. Don's 20-foot putt to win slides by. Kip's 4-footer goes in, leaving Don with about two feet. If he makes it, the match continues. If he misses, Kip wins. But Kip, in his voiceover, says, "If he missed that putt, it would kill him." On the green, Kip tells Don, "That's not right, you shouldn't have to putt that. Pick it up." Kip concedes Don's putt, and the match goes to extra holes.
On the 19th hole of the match, Don misses a downhill, 20-foot putt, leaving Kip a 12-foot putt for the win. Kip's putt is dead center, but stops right on the front edge of the cup.
The players move to the second extra hole, the 20th hole of the match. Don's drive is down the middle, and Kip bombs his drive down the right side of the fairway. Don's approach from 235 yards hits a bank off the right edge of the green and kicks onto the green. Kip's approach is from 170, and he puts his ball about 15 feet from the cup.
Don has a long putt that he leaves about 8 feet short. Kip's 12-footer is now for the win, but he misses. Don concedes the leftover. Now Don must make his 8-footer to extend the match. Kip tells his caddie there is no way Don will miss it.
But he does. The ball stops an inch short of the cup.
Kip Henley wins "The Big Break II."
In The Golf Channel studios, the 10 "Big Break II" contestants are reunited. Kip is presented with the keys to his Ford 500, a check for $10,000, and is told which Nationwide Tour events he'll be playing in. The four events are:
• Rheem Classic, May 12-15, in Fort Smith, Ark.
• Henrico County Open, May 19-22, in Richmond, Va.
• LaSalle Bank Open, June 9-12, in Glenview, Ill.
• Lake Erie Charity Classic, June 30-July 3, in Findley Lake, N.Y.
All night during the broadcast, The Golf Channel has been teasing a big twist to be revealed. Now, that twist is announced. Throughout the series, TheGolfChannel.com has been running a poll that asks the question, "Who do you think most deserves a big break?" The final results of that poll will be announced, and the winner will be back to take part in "The Big Break IV."
With 40-percent of the vote, Bart Lower is the winner. Bart is the first contestant for "The Big Break IV."
"Big Break II" homepage
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