Editor’s note: Airing each Tuesday at 10:00 p.m. ET through Dec. 12, The Big Break VI concept pits nine men and nine women competing against each other in a variety of challenges that test their skills and mental toughness for the right to compete in two Champions Tour and two LPGA Tour events, respectively. One female and one male will be eliminated from the series each week, with the two standing being crowned Big Break VI: Trump National winners.
Crew members set up an obstacle during the shape-your-shot portion of the Immunity Challenge.
Be careful of what you wish for because you just may get it. Annie Mallory, a Cactus Tour player from Fredericton, New Brunswick (currently residing in Las Vegas, Nev.), learned that lesson the hard way as she and Gavin Slabbert, a former motorcycle racer from Port Elizabeth, South Africa (currently living in Orange Park, Fla.), were eliminated in episode two of The Big Break VI: Trump National.
Mallory and Slabbert were sent home when they each lost a one-hole match play competition on the par-4 third hole of Trump National Golf Club: Los Angeles. After both players made par, Sarah Lynn Johnston (Williamston, S.C) rolled in a birdie putt to eliminate Mallory while Rocky Rockett (Gastonia, N.C.) made par to top Slabberts bogey.
One of only three female competitors who didnt compete on the Duramed FUTURES Tour this season, Mallory further felt the outsider in episode one when she was not picked as a playing partner by any of the men. The slight made the chip on the 23-year-olds shoulder grow to Mount Rushmore proportion.
Sarah was one of the people I wanted to go head-to-head with, Mallory said after being eliminated. I like them, but I wanted a FUTURES Tour girl. I wanted to take one out.
Instead, it was the Canadian who was bounced when Johnston made a 7-foot birdie putt to advance. It marked the second consecutive week in which Mallory was forced to compete in an Elimination Challenge. In the premiere show, both she and Slabbert were one of six contestants in a final short game competition.
Everything was just kind of average, Mallory explained. I didnt come out here to be average.
Par would have been a good showing for the duo. Resembling the underperforming U.S. squad in the recent Ryder Cup, it was no coincidence that Mallory and Slabbert found themselves once again playing for Big Break survival. The two were paired from results in the first show and competed together in the team Immunity Challenges.
Gavin Slabbert became the second male contestant to be ousted from the show.
In the first challenge, eight teams were broken into four matches. After both players hit a lag putt form over 50 feet, the team with the closest combined distance to the hole would win the match and gain immunity.
Mallorys and Slabberts 261 effort was well behind the combined effort of 1111 by Bri Vega (North Andover, Mass.) and Kelly Murray (Reston, Va.), which was low for the competition.
In the episodes second Immunity Challenge, the duo was once again well off the pace. Both players hit a 95-yard shot with the teams score being the worse of the two shots. Mallorys 362 effort ranked last in the competition.
With one last chance to avoid the Elimination Challenge, Mallory and Slabbert didnt fair any better in the shape-a-shot wall competition. They finished last to seal their fate as a team. For the final elimination, teams were disbanded for the match play
You win some, you lose some, Slabbert pondered after being eliminated. There is only one winner and Im disappointed it wasnt me.
In the premiere episode, Sid Corliss (Cumming, Ga.), a seasoned professional, and Karyn Stordahl-Utecht (Brownsburg, Ind.), a former Miss Minnesota married to an Indianapolis Colt, were eliminated in a short game challenge.
The 14 remaining contestant are still vying for the coveted tournament exemptions and other prizes. The female champion will receive an exemption into the 2007 SBS Open at Turtle Bay and the 2007 Longs Drugs Challenge, as well as waived entry fees for the 2007 Duramed FUTURES Tour season. The winning male contestant will receive exemptions into the 2007 Turtle Bay Championship and the 2007 Bank of America Championship, as well as waived entry fees in six events on the 2007 Heartland Players Senior Tour.
And finally, as a surprise to the contestants, the male and female champions will be joined by the eliminated contestants to compete for a chance to get into Trumps wallet! The ultimate winner of the match also will become the owner of an all new 2007 Chrysler Aspen - Chryslers first full-sized SUV.
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