Drive for Show and Putt for Dough

The golf proverb that winners drive for show and putt for dough proved accurate once again and in the process cost Mark Farrell his spot on Big Break: Mesquite.

In Tuesday’s episode that began with the big boys showing their stuff in a long-drive competition, Farrell was ousted from the series in a three-man Elimination Challenge against Kevin Taylor and Matt Vick that required players getting up-and-down from three locations, which means making putts. Farrell didnt make enough of them as he missed a putt from inside 5 feet that would have tied Taylor and forced a playoff.

Hiroshi Matsuo remains the leader in the cumulative point standings after five shows with 49, eight better than Gerry James. Both Matsuo and James recorded an episode-high 16 points.

Big Break: Mesquite has implemented a new scoring system to give the series a tournament feel. Each of the 12 episodes will consist of challenges that allow the players to earn points that will be used to determine which players make or fail to make the cut. The cut line varies from episode to episode and is based on the players cumulative points for the series. The cut will be announced at the start of each show and will be applied directly after that episodes final Points Challenge. Players who make the cut advance directly to the next episode. Players who fail to make the cut will go to the Elimination Challenge. The competitor with the worst performance in a shows Elimination Challenge will be eliminated from Big Break: Mesquite.

James improved from a tie for third to solo second place in the standings due largely to the Long Drive Challenge. The two-time senior division RE/MAX World Long Drive Champion ' the man fellow competitor James Nitties described in a GolfChannel.com blog as Sasquatchs stunt double for those beef jerky advertisements ' easily won the competition. The 47-year-old said it was the happiest he has been in the competition. The other eight could only smile as special guest RE/MAX World Long Drive Legend Jason Zuback put on a show in a testosterone-fueled exhibition.

I was really struggling to get ahead of these guys in the golf but knew I had the advantage in the long drive, said the 47-year-old James.

Farrell, meanwhile, is left to continue his career odyssey. As a youngster he wanted to play in the NHL but ended up on Big Break: Mesquite - which is a fortunate turn of events since he is pursuing a career in golf.

After playing hockey in high school and college, he decided to give up on the sport. With a degree in Economics, Farrell went the business route and did well selling computer systems to large financial institutions. After an eight-year stint as a corporate guy, Farrell decided to try his hand as a freestyle ski instructor/ski bum in Aspen, Colo., for three years.

It was the classic inverse curve, Farrell said. The W2 goes down and the quality of life goes up.

In 2000, Farrell returned to competitive golf after 12 years. Since that time he has played in 10 USGA National Championships, (including the 2005 and 2006 U.S. Amateurs) a British Amateur, and won three player-of-the-year titles in Connecticut, along with winning five amateur titles. Prior to making the jump to the professional ranks in October 2006, he represented the Metropolitan Golf Association in a Ryder Cup format against the French National Amateur Team in Paris. Currently, he is a member on the North American Pro Golf Tour.

He said his experiences have given him a life perspective to realize that its still just a game and its still just a number. Unfortunately for Farrell, his number was one too many, and that puts an end to the game on Big Break: Mesquite.

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