MONDAY, MAY 19 AT 9 P.M. ET
More than $100,000 in Cash and Prizes on the Line for Winner of Golf Channel’s Competition Series
Big Break Florida Champion to Receive Exemption to Manulife Financial LPGA Classic (June 2-8), Full Status on 2015 Symetra Tour and $65,000 in Cash
ORLANDO, Fla. (May 14, 2014) – In a season that started with 12 competitors, Golf Channel’s Big Break Florida competition series has narrowed the field to the final two – Fiamma Felitch (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Jackie Stoelting (Vero Beach, Fla.) – who will meet for an 18-hole singles match in the season finale, Monday at 9 p.m. ET.
Felitch and Stoelting will compete for the opportunity to make their lifelong dreams of playing alongside the world’s top golfers a reality. The winner of Big Break Florida will earn a sponsor’s exemption to the LPGA Tour’s Manulife Financial LPGA Classic (June 2-8) and more than $100,000 in cash and prizes.
In addition to the tournament exemption, the winner also will receive:
- $65,000 in cash, including $5,000 courtesy of Dick’s Sporting Goods and $10,000 courtesy of Macanudo.
- Full, exempt status to the 2015 Symetra Tour season with all entry fees paid.
- An endorsement contract from Adams Golf, including $10,000 in cash.
- $10,000 in car rental credit courtesy of Avis Car Rental.
- $13,000 in travel credit courtesy of Travelocity.
- A four-day, three-night stay at any Omni golf resort in the United States.
The finalists:
Fiamma Felitch (25, Oklahoma City, Okla.) – A decorated junior golfer from Oklahoma – the 2007 high school state champion and player of the year – Felitch is competing on the Cactus and Symetra Tours in 2014 with a renewed sense of energy and passion to achieve her dream of competing on the LPGA Tour.
Jackie Stoelting (27, Vero Beach, Fla.) – Stoelting made the cut in the final stage of LPGA Q-School this past December, earning conditional status on the LPGA Tour for 2014 as a rookie. That makes her the first Big Break contestant in series history to earn status on any major professional golf tour in between competing on the series and prior to that series airing. Stoelting also is the lone contestant on the series to have competed in a major championship, after she qualified and made the cut in the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open. She is playing full-time on the Symetra Tour and select LPGA Tour events in 2014.
Filmed on location last October, Big Break Florida is produced in partnership with VISIT FLORIDA and unfolds at Omni Amelia Island Plantation’s three award-winning golf courses: Oak Marsh, Ocean Links and Long Point Golf Courses. Oak Marsh Golf Course, a classic Pete Dye design, is ranked as one of the top 75 resort courses in the U.S. by Golf Digest and as one of “Florida’s 50 Finest Courses” by Travel & Leisure. Ocean Links Golf Course, a Bobby Weed design, features five oceanfront holes overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, and winds through six miles of natural sand dunes and seaside terrain that is unique to Amelia Island. Long Point Golf Course is a Tom Fazio design that features rolling fairways winding through three distinctive settings: marshlands, thick oak and pine forest, and scenic oceanfront dunes.
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. On Big Break Florida, the competitors are subject to skills competitions from tee-to-green, including two of the series’ signature challenges, the popular “Glass Break” and “Flop Wall” challenges. One contestant is eliminated each week, with the last player standing awarded her Big Break, an opportunity to compete on the LPGA Tour.
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. Matt Every (Big Break Mesquite competitor) earned his first PGA TOUR victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in April 2014. 2013 Solheim Cup team member Gerina Piller (Big Break Prince Edward Island competitor), 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) are currently playing full-time on the LPGA Tour.
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About Golf Channel
Golf Channel is a multimedia, golf entertainment and services company based in Orlando, Fla. Golf Channel, co-founded by Arnold Palmer in 1995 and now part of the NBC Sports Group, is available in more than 120 million homes and 83 countries worldwide. Exclusive partnerships with the world’s top tours allow Golf Channel to feature more live golf coverage than all other networks combined, as well as a programming schedule distinguished by golf’s highest-quality news, instruction and original programming. Golf Channel’s digital platforms, led by GolfChannel.com, are the leading golf destinations on the Internet, delivering unmatched coverage of the world of golf, as well as services that connect the world to golf. Fans are able to enjoy 24/7 live streaming of Golf Channel content through GolfChannel.com and Golf Channel’s mobile application, Golf Live Extra. Golf Channel programming also is available via SiriusXM’s PGA TOUR Radio.
About VISIT FLORIDA
As the Sunshine State’s No. 1 industry, tourism was responsible for welcoming 91.5 million visitors in 2012 who spent $71.8 billion, generating 23 percent of the state’s sales tax revenue and employing more than one million Floridians. For every $1 spent on tourism marketing, VISIT FLORIDA – the state’s official tourism marketing corporation – generates more than $258 in tourism spending and $15 in new sales tax collections, paid by visitors, not residents. VISIT FLORIDA promotes tourism to Florida through sales, advertising, promotions, public relations and visitor services programs. As a public/private partnership, VISIT FLORIDA serves nearly 12,000 tourism industry businesses, including 2,700 invested Partners, 8,900 web affiliates and major strategic alliance partnerships with Disney Destinations, Dollar Rent A Car, The Hertz Corporation, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and Universal Orlando. To learn more about VISIT FLORIDA, please go to www.VISITFLORIDA.org or follow our corporate blog at www.SunshineMatters.org.
About the Omni Amelia Island Plantation
Nestled at the tip of a barrier island off the Northeast Florida coast, Omni Amelia Island Plantation surrounds itself with sparkling Atlantic waters, lush salt marshlands and the Intracoastal Waterway. Ranked as one of the top 25 islands in the world by Condé Nast Traveler, Amelia Island is home to this award-winning, luxury resort that is in perfect harmony with nature. The 1,350-acre property boasts 404 luxury oceanfront guest rooms and suites, as well as 300 one-, two- and three-bedroom villas. Omni Amelia Island Plantation's three courses – Ocean Links, Oak Marsh and Long Point – offer 54 holes of championship golf designed by Pete Dye, Bobby Weed and Tom Fazio showcasing seven seaside holes, the most in Florida. The resort also offers the largest pool deck in Northeast Florida presenting spectacular Atlantic views, three-and-a-half miles of uninterrupted beach; 23 Har-Tru® tennis courts; a boutique shopping village, a nature-inspired signature spa; two state-of-the-art fitness centers; nine culinary options ranging from casual to gourmet; 80,000 sq. ft. of flexible meeting space; kids camps; and award-winning recreation for adventurers including kayaking, paddleboarding, horseback riding, Segway™ tours and seven miles of paved trails. Omni Amelia Island Plantation offers authentic, genuine guest experiences with AAA Four-Diamond service and the expectations of the Omni brand.
