FUTURES Tour Players Compete in Golf Channel's Big Break III Series Starting Tomorrow Night

LAKELAND, Fla., February 7, 2005 -- Gentlemen, please step aside. It's time for the women to take the tee.

Make that the TV, as 10 women golfers kick off The Golf Channel's "Big Break III: Ladies Only" reality series tomorrow night, Tuesday, Feb. 8, starting at 9 p.m. EST. The entire cast for the first-ever women's version of the popular series has either competed on the FUTURES Golf Tour or has competed in the Tour's Qualifying Tournament.

Each player will attempt to be the last golfer remaining in the 10-week elimination golf skills contest that gives the winner entry into select 2005 LPGA tournaments, including the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va., and the LPGA Corning Classic in Corning, N.Y. Big Break III will feature the same type of format that has given the guys competitive opportunities in the original Big Break and Big Break II reality-TV series.

"With all the talent out there, there's a lot more young women pursuing a chance at a career on the LPGA Tour these days," said Jay Kossoff, The Golf Channel's senior producer of original productions and the lead producer on The Big Break. "We wanted to catch that talent on the way up and test these ladies with challenges Big Break-style."

The Golf Channel conducted numerous auditions in a nationwide search last year in an effort to select 10 women for the show. Competitions in each week's show test both physical skills and mental toughness, eliminating one player from the series each week until a final player remains as the winner in the 10-week series.

And while players in the Big Break III cannot discuss the ultimate outcome of the series, a pair of FUTURES Tour members admit they are anxiously awaiting the airing of this week's debut show.

"I'm kind of nervous because I haven't seen the show," said contestant Sarah Sasse, 24, a rookie on the FUTURES Golf Tour last season from Lincoln, Neb. "It was a pretty nerve-racking, sleep-depriving experience that I won't forget any time soon. I was on pins and needles the whole time, but the show should be interesting. You put 10 women together and you know it's at least going to be entertaining."

The group lived together for two weeks last October in a large home at Kingsmill Resort during the shooting, and according to FUTURES Tour member and BBIII contestant Jan Dowling, the cameras were always rolling, from 5:30 a.m. to nearly 10:30 p.m. each day.

"At first, having the cameras there constantly was kind of strange, but then you get used to it," said Dowling, 24, of Bradford, Ontario, who has played two seasons on the FUTURES Tour. "We all got along really well, but you worry that they might have filmed some bad-mouthing or dirty jokes. I'd love to see some of our blooper tapes."

One aspect of the The Big Break III that was different than the men's version of the series was that all of the women contestants were allowed to remain with the group, even after being eliminated from the skills competition. In The Big Break and BBII, if a player was eliminated, he packed his suitcase and left the venue. In BBIII, each woman contestant was allowed to stay until the winner was crowned.

"We got treated like queens," said Dowling, who now lives in Dallas. "I tried to go into this with an open mind. I've never watched any of those reality shows on TV and I didn't really know what to expect, but it was an incredible experience."

Dowling said the skill challenges each day paralleled what is actually felt in competition. She went into every skills contest with the feeling that it "had to count."

"Every shot you hit was like being on the 18th tee holding the lead of a tournament," she added. "There were a lot of pressure-packed situations."

Joining Dowling and Sasse in Big Break III are: Danielle Amiee, 28, of Newport Beach, Calif., a touring pro who has been a FUTURES Tour member in 2000, 2001 and 2004; Felicia Brown, 28, a contract specialist for the Department of Defense in Redondo Beach, Calif., a FUTURES Tour member in 1999 and 2000; Tasha Browner, 23, a touring pro and golf shop manager from Tarzana, Calif., who played the FUTURES Tour in 2003; Pamela Crikelair, 24, a newly turned professional from Highland Beach, Fla., and Westchester County, N.Y., who competed as an amateur on the FUTURES Tour in 2004 and turned pro at last November's Qualifying Tournament; Debbie Dahmer, 41, a deejay company owner and touring professional from Escondido, Calif., who has played in one FUTURES Tour event as an amateur; Cindy Miller, 48, an LPGA teaching professional from Silver Creek, N.Y., who has played the FUTURES Tour since 2000; Valeria Ochoa, 24, an assistant club pro from Miramar, Fla., and Colombia, South America, who competed in the 2004 FUTURES Tour Qualifying Tournament; and Liz Uthoff, 25, a teaching a touring professional from St. Louis, Mo., who competed in two FUTURES Tour tournaments in 2004. Co-hosts of the series are The Golf Channel's Vince Cellini and Stephanie Sparks, a former FUTURES Tour and LPGA Tour professional.

How do Sasse and Dowling think the show will affect their careers as aspiring LPGA professionals? The word is mum, as far as the outcome of the show is concerned. But each player hopes the TV exposure will help attract vital sponsorships to continue playing professional tournament golf.

"I think we all represented ourselves and women's golf pretty well," said Dowling, who plans to hold a Big Break-style competition for fun and bragging rights with her friends on a Texas driving range, just prior to Tuesday's BBIII telecast.

"When you do something like this, you subject yourself to being humiliated on national TV," laughed Sasse, who now caddies and works as a waitress in the off-season in Las Vegas. "I get on big highs and sometimes, big lows, when I play, so I'm a little nervous about how I'm going to be revealed on TV."

One thing is for certain, however. TV viewers who have seen the Golf Channel's promotions for the Big Break III, already are recognizing faces.

"I was in a grocery store back home in Lincoln this Christmas and a man came up to me and said, 'You're that girl in Survivor!'" said Sasse. "I was like, 'Oh no, it's not Survivor -- it's Big Break III."

Funny, but it kind of felt like Survivor.

Contact: Lisa D. Mickey, FUTURES Golf Tour, 863-709-9100, Ext. 2 or lisa@futurestour.com.