ORLANDO, Fla. (Aug. 6, 2013) –
BIG BREAK NFL from Puerto Rico will be all about reunion, redemption and
teamwork this fall when 12 previous BIG BREAK competitors return to
team up with six of the NFL’s all-time greats,
premiering Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 9 p.m. ET and airing weekly on Tuesday
nights.
BIG BREAK NFL from Puerto Rico
will feature an all-star cast comprised of several of the series’ most
captivating and polarizing personalities returning for a second chance
at kick starting their professional golf careers.
Two past BIG BREAK competitors – one male and one female, will join one
NFL legend to form three-person teams. The series will feature a new
format twist to BIG BREAK – teams will win or lose as teams. On the
line will be $50,000 to the winning NFL legend’s
designated charity, along with 2014 PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour tournament
exemptions, cash and other prizes for the BIG BREAK competitors.
The teams competing on BIG BREAK NFL from Puerto Rico are:
Team Brown
Tim Brown (46, Dallas, Texas, 3 handicap, 17-year NFL wide receiver, 1987 Heisman Trophy winner)
Mallory Blackwelder (26, Versailles, Ky. / Scottsdale, Ariz. – BIG BREAK IRELAND)
Will Lowery (28, Charlotte, N.C. – BIG BREAK INDIAN WELLS)
Team Bulger
Marc Bulger (36, Sarasota, Fla., 4 handicap, 10-year NFL quarterback and two-time Pro Bowler)
Zakiya Randall (21, Washington, D.C. – BIG BREAK ATLANTIS)
Chad Schulze (25, Cockeysville, Md. – BIG BREAK MEXICO)
Team Del Greco
Al Del Greco (51, Birmingham, Ala., +1 handicap, 17-year NFL placekicker)
Stefanie Kenoyer (24, Lighthouse Point, Fla. – BIG BREAK MEXICO)
Oren Geri (39, Altamonte Springs, Fla. – BIG BREAK INDIAN WELLS)
Team Doleman
Chris Doleman (51, Atlanta, Ga., 3 handicap, 2012 Pro Football Hall-of-Fame Inductee and 15-year NFL defensive lineman)
Shannon Fish (24, Spring, Texas – BIG BREAK ATLANTIS)
Brian Cooper (46, Phoenix, Ariz. – BIG BREAK GREENBRIER)
Team Rice
Jerry Rice (50, Atherton, Calif., 1 handicap, Pro Football Hall-of-Fame wide receiver and three-time Super Bowl champion)
Emily Talley (23, Napa, Calif. – BIG BREAK MEXICO)
Isaac Sanchez (34, Folsom, Calif. – BIG BREAK GREENRBIER)
Team Rypien
Mark Rypien (50, Spokane, Wash., 1 handicap, 12-year NFL quarterback and two-time Super Bowl champion)
Meghan Hardin (21, La Quinta, Calif. – BIG BREAK ATLANTIS)
James Lepp (28, Abbotsford, British Columbia – BIG BREAK GREENBRIER)
“Not many people in our sport
get this kind of opportunity to be on Big Break in the first place, let
alone two Big Breaks in one year. I’m blessed to have another
opportunity to give it another go.” –
BIG BREAK MEXICO competitor Stefanie Kenoyer
“Big Break Greenbrier started a
great year for me, and now I have another pinch me moment by coming back
for another Big Break. I can only think of one way to cap this off.”-
BIG BREAK GREENBRIER competitor Brian Cooper
“I was driving and all of a
sudden the thought crossed my mind that it would be really cool to be on
Big Break again. Ten minutes later I got the phone call out of the
blue. I committed to it right on the phone, saying
‘Wherever you need me to be, I’ll be there with a smile on my face.’” –
BIG BREAK ATLANTIS competitor Shannon Fish
“Big Break Ireland was one of
the greatest experiences in my life. We joke all of the time how I have
unfinished business on Big Break. And then I got the call for the
reunion show. Everything happens for a reason.”
– BIG BREAK IRELAND competitor Mallory Blackwelder
“People look at me and think, ‘I
know that guy from somewhere,’ and then they take a look at my
cross-handed grip and golf swing and say, ‘Oh yeah, that’s Will from Big
Break.’ I’m excited to put the golf swing on display
once again.” – BIG BREAK INDIAN WELLS competitor Will Lowery
Golf Channel’s BIG BREAK show
concept pits highly skilled golfers against each other in a variety of
challenges that test their physical skills and mental toughness. During
BIG BREAK NFL from Puerto Rico, teams will
be subject to skills challenges from tee-to-green, including two of the
series’ signature challenges, the popular “Glass Break” and “Flop Wall”
challenges. The series also will feature special guest appearances
from World Golf Hall-of-Fame member and Puerto
Rico’s own Chi Chi Rodriguez and two-time Super Bowl winner and NBC’s Football Night in America analyst Rodney Harrison.
NBC Sports’ Sunday Night Football
sideline reporter and Emmy Award-winner Michele Tafoya also joins Golf
Channel’s Tom Abbott to co-host BIG BREAK NFL from Puerto Rico.
Tafoya, who has covered the NFL for
more than 10 years, is entering her third season as a sideline reporter
for NBC after seven years with ABC and ESPN as a sideline reporter for
Monday Night Football.
Serving as the backdrop for BIG
BREAK NFL from Puerto Rico will be the luxurious Dorado Beach Resort in
Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico. Produced in partnership with the Puerto Rico
Tourism Company, the series will unfold
on the resort’s historic East Course, a par-72 layout that features
panoramic sight lines of the Atlantic Ocean on 15 of 18 holes.
Originally designed by Robert Trent Jones, the course was recently
redesigned by Robert Trent Jones II, bringing the classic
seaside course into the 21st century.
Past BIG BREAK champions have
won tournament exemptions to compete on some of the world’s top
professional circuits, including the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, European
Tour, LPGA Tour, Web.com Tour and Canadian Tour.
Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey, BIG
BREAK VII: REUNION champion and PGA TOUR professional, captured his
first PGA TOUR victory in 2012 at The McGladrey Classic and is playing
full-time on the PGA TOUR. Gerina Piller (BIG
BREAK PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND competitor) will compete next week in the
2013 Solheim Cup, representing Team U.S.A. as a Captain’s Pick. 2011
Solheim Cup team member Ryann O’Toole (BIG BREAK SANDALS RESORTS
competitor) and 2009 U.S. Solheim Cup Team member Kristy
McPherson (BIG BREAK VI: TRUMP NATIONAL competitor) also are
currently playing full-time on the LPGA Tour. Several other past BIG
BREAK competitors are currently competing on the world’s top tours,
including Matt Every (PGA TOUR), James Nitties and
Mark Silvers (Web.com Tour) and Kim Welch, Nicole Smith, Kelly Jacques
(LPGA Tour).
Become a fan of BIG BREAK on Facebook at:
facebook.com/GolfChannel.BigBreak
Follow BIG BREAK on Twitter @BigBreak
About Golf Channel
As the fastest-growing network on television, Golf
Channel is a multimedia, golf entertainment and services company based
in Orlando, Fla. The Golf Channel cable network, co-founded by Arnold
Palmer in 1995 and part of the NBC Sports Group,
is available in more than 120 million homes worldwide through cable,
satellite and wireless companies. As part of the NBC Sports Group,
professional golf coverage on NBC is branded “Golf Channel on NBC,”
further extending the Golf Channel brand to NBC’s broadcast
audiences. Exclusive partnerships with the world’s top tours allow Golf
Channel to feature more live golf coverage than all other networks
combined, added to a programming schedule distinguished by golf’s best
news, instruction and original programming. Golf
Channel’s digital platform of businesses is led by
www.GolfChannel.com, a leading golf destination on the Internet,
delivering unmatched coverage of the world of golf, as well as services
that help the recreational player with how to play, what to play and
where to play golf.
About Dorado Beach Resort
Dorado Beach Resort is a resort community in Puerto
Rico inspired by the vision of its original developer, Laurance S.
Rockefeller. Nestled on 1,400 acres of lush tropical forest overlooking
golden sand beaches, Dorado Beach is home to the
only Ritz Carlton Reserve and Residences in the western hemisphere.
Secluded and private, Dorado Beach was recently selected as one of the
top 100 resort destinations in the world and features 54 holes of golf
designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. along with
The Watermill, a private waterpark that can be enjoyed by every member
of the family. Offering a full array of sports, activities, and culinary
experiences, Dorado Beach has re-emerged as one of the world's finest
luxury resort destinations.
About Puerto Rico Tourism Company
The Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), founded in
1970, is a public corporation responsible for stimulating, promoting and
regulating the development of the tourism industry. It markets Puerto
Rico as a tourism destination through advertising,
public relations and promotional activities; promotes tourism among
local residents; provides visitor orientation and technical assistance
to investors; evaluates tourism facilities and establishes standards of
quality; and regulates and oversees gaming operations.
PRTC has offices and representatives in the U.S. mainland, Canada,
Europe and Latin America.