Four-Round Big Break Invitational Reynolds Lake Oconee to Air Live Tuesday, Sept. 30 – Friday, Oct. 3
Competitors Playing for $300,000 Purse with $100,000 to the Champion
PGA TOUR Winner Tommy Gainey, Solheim Cup Veterans Kristy McPherson, Gerina Piller and Ryann O’Toole and NFL Hall-of-Famer Jerry Rice Headline Field of 40 Past Big Break Players – 20 Men and 20 Women
15 Past Big Break Champions Entered, Including Justin Peters and Kip Henley, Big Break’s First Two Champions
2014 Web.com Tour, Symetra Tour, NGA Tour and Cactus Tour Winners in Field, Including Tony Finau, Mallory Blackwelder, Sadena Parks, Jay Woodson and Tonya McCall
Golf Channel today announced the field of 40 former Big Break competitors who will go head-to-head in full tournament conditions for the first time this fall at the inaugural Big Break Invitational Reynolds Lake Oconee, a four-day invitational tournament airing live Tuesday, Sept. 30 – Friday, Oct. 3 from 3-6 p.m. ET.
Taking place at the Great Waters Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee near Greensboro, Ga., the field of 40 (20 men and 20 women) represent 20 seasons of Big Break, including several of the series’ most memorable competitors who are playing on the world’s top professional tours. The four-round tournament will feature a Modified Stableford format for the first two rounds, followed by match play and concluding with stroke play to determine the Big Break Invitational Reynolds Lake Oconee champion. Fifteen Big Break champions are entered in the field for Big Break Invitational Reynolds Lake Oconee.
The field includes:
Men
Robbie Biershenk
Big Break Indian Wells (2010)
David Byrne
Big Break Indian Wells (2010)
Champion
Brian Cooper
Big Break Greenbrier (2012); Big Break NFL Puerto Rico (2013)
Don Donatello
Big Break II (2004)
Kent Eger
Big Break Indian Wells (2010)
Tony Finau
Big Break Disney Golf (2009)
Tommy Gainey
Big Break IV: USA vs. Europe (2005); Big Break VII: Reunion (2007)
Champion
Derek Gillespie
Big Break Prince Edward Island (2009)
Champion
Kip Henley
Big Break II (2004)
Champion
Hugo Leon
Big Break X: Michigan (2008)
Brent Long
Big Break Mexico (2013)
Mark Murphy
Big Break Ireland (2011)
Champion
James Nitties
Big Break Mesquite (2007)
Justin Peters
Big Break I (2003)
Champion
Jerry Rice
Big Break NFL Puerto Rico (2013)
Champion
Anthony Rodriguez
Big Break Mesquite (2008); Big Break Dominican Republic (2010)
Isaac Sanchez
Big Break Greenbrier (2012); Big Break NFL Puerto Rico (2013)
Champion
Mark Silvers
Big Break Greenbrier (2012)
Champion
Julien Trudeau
Big Break Ireland (2011)
Jay Woodson
Big Break Mexico (2013)
Women
Anya Alvarez
Big Break Atlantis (2012)
Mallory Blackwelder
Big Break Ireland (2011); Big Break NFL Puerto Rico (2013)
Sara Brown
Big Break Sandals Resorts (2010); Big Break Dominican Republic (2010)
Taylor Collins
Big Break Mexico (2013)
Champion
Selanee Henderson
Big Break Atlantis (2012)
Stefanie Kenoyer
Big Break Mexico (2013); Big Break NFL Puerto Rico (2013)
Tonya McCall
Big Break Florida (2014)
Kristy McPherson
Big Break VI: Trump National (2006)
Mary Narzisi
Big Break Florida (2014)
Carling Nolan
Big Break Sandals Resorts (2010)
Champion
Blair O’Neal
Big Break Prince Edward Island (2009); Big Break Dominican Republic (2010)
Champion
Ryann O’Toole
Big Break Sandals Resorts (2010)
Gerina Piller
Big Break Prince Edward Island (2009)
Elena Robles
Big Break Sandals Resorts (2010); Big Break Dominican Republic (2010)
Sadena Parks
Big Break Florida (2014)
Renee Skidmore
Big Break Florida (2014)
Jackie Stoelting
Big Break Florida (2014)
Champion
Emily Talley
Big Break Mexico (2013); Big Break NFL Puerto Rico (2013)
Champion
Maiya Tanaka
Big Break Sandals Resorts (2010)
Kim Welch
Big Break Ka’anapali (2008)
Champion
The field entered into Big Break Invitational Reynolds Lake Oconee represent several of the most successful players coming out of Golf Channel’s Big Break competition series. On the men’s side:
Tommy Gainey (Big Break VII: Reunion Champion) was the first Big Break competitor to earn full PGA TOUR status after Big Break, and won the PGA TOUR’s McGladrey Classic in 2012.
Tony Finau (Big Break Disney Golf) will earn his PGA TOUR card for 2015 after capturing his first professional victory this year on the Web.com Tour.
James Nitties (Big Break Mesquite) currently playing full time on the Web.com Tour, is a past Web.com Tour winner and earned PGA TOUR status in 2012.
Jay Woodson (Big Break Mexico) has several top-5 finishes and one win on the 2014 NGA Tour.
Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Jerry Rice, who along with fellow Big Break teammates Isaac Sanchez and Emily Talley won Big Break NFL Puerto Rico in 2013, also is entered in the field.
On the women’s side:
Kristy McPherson (Big Break VI: Trump National), Ryann O’Toole (Big Break Sandals Resorts) and Gerina Piller (Big Break Prince Edward Island) are all currently playing full time on the LPGA Tour and are past U.S. Solheim Cup Team members – 2009, 2011 and 2013, respectively.
Sadena Parks (Big Break Florida) is well on her way to earning full LPGA status in 2015 after winning two Symetra Tour events in three weeks in July in only her second season as a professional.
Mallory Blackwelder (Big Break Ireland; Big Break NFL Puerto Rico) won her first professional tournament on the Symetra Tour this year in April and is currently in the top-10 on the Symetra Tour Money List.
Jackie Stoelting (Big Break Florida champion) has five top-10 finishes on the Symetra Tour this year and is inside the top-10 on the 2014 Symetra Tour Money List.
Tonya McCall (Big Break Florida) won her first professional event on the Cactus Tour in April in her first full-year back as a professional golfer.
Fifteen past Big Break champions are entered in Big Break Invitational Reynolds Lake Oconee, including Justin Peters and Kip Henley, the series’ first two champions, in 2003 and 2004. Peters currently is playing full time on the mini tour circuit and PGA TOUR Canada, while Henley is a full-time caddie on the PGA TOUR.
Beginning a new multi-year relationship between Golf Channel and Reynolds Lake Oconee, Big Break Invitational Reynolds Lake Oconee will take place at the Great Waters Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee, the famed golf resort community in Greensboro, Ga., and will feature a $300,000 overall purse, with $100,000 going to the champion. The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee will serve as host resort and tournament headquarters.
Big Break Invitational Reynolds Lake Oconee will air live on Golf Channel from 3-6 p.m. ET, Tuesday, Sept. 30 – Friday, Oct. 3. The first two rounds will feature a Modified Stableford format (players earning points for birdie and higher and negative points for bogey and lower), with the 12 men and 12 women earning the most points after the first two rounds making the cut. Thursday’s third round will feature match play (six men vs. six men / six women vs. six women), with 12 match-play winners advancing to Friday’s final round of 18-holes of stroke play.
For the past 21 seasons, Golf Channel’s Big Break competition series has proven to be the launching pad of many aspiring professional golfers looking to take that next step in their golf careers. The Big Break concept pits highly skilled golfers against each other in a variety of challenges that test their physical skills and mental toughness. During the series’ 21 seasons, 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.
