Big Break X: Michigan

[worst_shot_ever]

OMG great call.

[Awsi Dooger]

James Vargas' poor play and early exit with Andrea looked even more strange when I checked his resume. He was a standout junior in Miami, at a high school a few miles from where I grew up. Multiple state champion. And look at this major junior event from 2001 at Walt Disney World. Vargas led the qualifying by 6 shots over some familiar names, shooting 66-63-129 for -15. He eventually lost in the match play semifinals but one round earlier he took out Anthony Kim in 21 holes:

http://www.golfweekrankings.com/temp...ys/&v;=4153.asp

Vargas was a good player at Florida but did not live up to expectation, with a scoring average just under 73. In this recent Big Break-related interview on the Duramed site he described his college experience: http://www.duramedfuturestour.com/En...s/FS102208.ssi

“It was disappointing,” Vargas said of his collegiate career, where he was a teammate of PGA TOUR standout Camilo Villegas and Big Break Mesquite contestant and current Nationwide Tour player Matt Every. “I felt that I didn’t play to my potential and let the whole college atmosphere get to me. If I had to do it over again, I would know how to do it better and not make the same mistakes, because it set me back in my golf.”

Vargas advanced easily to the second round of PGA Qualifying last week, in the same Crandon Park (Key Biscayne) sectional that Erik Compton got all the attention. Vargas finished +1 but his effort was saved by a great back nine in the third round. In 35 mile per hour gusts Vargas was +8 on the front nine that day, but brought it back in -4 to salvage a 76.

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/go...ry/739349.html

[Awsi Dooger]

OMG great call.

The more I looked at it I was amazed at the similarities, almost like she was trying to emulate that character, although obviously it was a coincidence. Rachel L. was so impressive in that setting I wish they had full individual confessionals like Ka'anapali. You never know who is going to open up in that setting.

Later in that confessional, Rachel mentioned the awkward celebration in the BMZ Zone when Michael and Sherri eliminated Andrea and James. Rachel confirmed something I wondered about. The Big Break camerawork made it appear James and Andrea might have been walking toward the other side of the green, but Rachel said of Michael: "...he was so overly excited, and so loud about it, when James and Andrea were standing right there."

[MSDOGS1976]

I can't believe big break is still on the air. Same old stuff. Just different jerks characters.

[Doctorfro]

I'm sorry but most of these golfers are AWFUL!!!

[Q.Q.Quillume]

I'm sorry but most of these golfers are AWFUL!!!

And one of them is not just a jerk, but the epitome of a jerk.

[Golfgal]

It's funny...in a hockey game or a football game, David wouldn't be looked at twice for his so called "trash talk", but in golf, people want to tar and feather him. I find that pretty funny (I come from a hockey family - David's tame).

Anyway...certainly lots of drama tonight. I chatted with Michael about it and will add the rest of the interviews to the blog tomorrow - including David. Let me know what you think.

Gayle

[alf174]

I'm sorry but most of these golfers are AWFUL!!!

And all but two (maybe three) list their occupation as "professional golfer" or something similar. yikes!

[Todd]

I was looking forward to last night's episode because of the previews. I didn't like the comment by David's opponent, can't remember his name right now, in the draw/fade competition when David was complimenting him on hitting good shots, and he accused him of always wanting to be on the camera.

[zRam]

And all but two (maybe three) list their occupation as "professional golfer" or something similar. yikes!

I don't doubt it. They're probably teaching pros.

[jmoc]

I was looking forward to last night's episode because of the previews. I didn't like the comment by David's opponent, can't remember his name right now, in the draw/fade competition when David was complimenting him on hitting good shots, and he accused him of always wanting to be on the camera.

Let me put it this way, Most men don't like it when another guy comes up and starts teaching their wife/girlfriend how to play without so much as acknowledging their presence, and they don't like it when another man talks to their balls.

Golfgal hit on this earlier, what is acceptable at a Hockey Game is considered rude on the tee and through the green. Anything more than "shot", "bite" or "turn" starts getting into that "your talking to my ball/wife/girlfriend" zone. When you are hitting your shot, in golf, it is courtsey to give that person that time and that space, especially when it's your competitor..... jmoc

[Doctorfro]

I was looking forward to last night's episode because of the previews. I didn't like the comment by David's opponent, can't remember his name right now, in the draw/fade competition when David was complimenting him on hitting good shots, and he accused him of always wanting to be on the camera.

Yeah, that was garbage. Creating drama where there is none. What a wuss. If he had been trying some gamesmanship of some kind I can see where he had a point but all I saw was someone making a rote compliment like we all do out on the course. "Good shot"

[gsu_paintballer]

It's not like talking to the damn ball actually DOES anything.

Not sure I see what the big deal is.

[iacas]

Yeah, that was garbage. Creating drama where there is none. What a wuss. If he had been trying some gamesmanship of some kind I can see where he had a point but all I saw was someone making a rote compliment like we all do out on the course. "Good shot"

I wouldn't have liked it either. I don't want someone talking to my golf ball. "Keep your lips off my golf ball" (or variations) is a common phrase for a reason. He should have shut up except to say "good shot" or something.

[Three Putt]

I think David is the most entertaining on the show....by far. He is playing the "Heel" trying to get in others heads to try to win. As a "Golf Entertainer" times have to be tough for him as far as $$$, in this economy. He is a former long drive champ that I think paid 100k, but he is getting older and the younger guys are passing him by in long drive. He definetly can hit golf shots, his short game is holding him back. Can't fault a man for doing everything he can to win and get that "One Shot" at the big stage.

Telling the rules officials to "Ok...Get the hell out of the way!" was bad form, and the golf gods will not reward him for that.

I do think however it is BS to have a couple of players dig up your small "teeing ground" before you hit, it was not a stipulated round, just a skills contest.

[iacas]

I do think however it is BS to have a couple of players dig up your small "teeing ground" before you hit, it was not a stipulated round, just a skills contest.

I see that two ways. One, he had plenty of room to put the ball down.

Two, in a previous season of Big Break, someone tamped down a divot or something and was "called" for it. Stina, this week, said "we're playing under the Rules of Golf." Clue to Stina: no you're not. If you were playing under the Rules of Golf, the stupid thing you had to hit around would be a temporary immovable obstruction and players would be granted line-of-sight relief or something. And nowhere in the Rules of Golf does it tell you you must hit a fade from a box and that you score a point for hitting the ball on the putting green. They should drop that whole "rules of golf" thing re: teeing areas that are a helluva lot closer to "teeing areas" than "just where your ball ended up in the fairway," which is how they seem to want to play it.

[Awsi Dooger]

I see that two ways. One, he had plenty of room to put the ball down.

I agree with all of that. It's a stupid rule and rationalization, but this time David's predicament appeared to be slim and none. There was plenty of pristine turf and in general the draw/fade challenge didn't seem to be as strenuous, more removed from the teeing area and perhaps not as high.

In the same challenge in Ka'anapali, Kim Welch left a huge divot on her final shot and walked away without fixing it. That left Christina Lecuyer with a massive chunk of disrupted earth, much worse conditions than David faced. She tapped the ground instinctively, thinking it was a teeing ground. When Christina scored 4 points, Kim quietly questioned the legality of improving the area and Lori took it further, stressing it to the judges. They ruled Christina had violated the rules, and took away her points. I thought it was completely bogus, and I can't believe 7 months later the same situation popped up again. Actually, I can believe it. The program probably saw potential for further dispute and loved it. Otherwise, I don't see anything appealing about Dave or his antics. His tone while Casey's shot was in the air was pure sarcastic, like he's saying one thing but rooting exactly the opposite. Plus, when someone defaults to foul language in a public setting it plummets them in my book. It's like they have nothing else to fall back on so they show up with, "get the hell out of the way," and "...piss me off." Admittedly, that's the same way I evaluate comedians or cinema with a reliance on profanity. It basically screams no threat of class or clever, so I'll go with shock value garbage. In Ka'anapali, Lori came across as a jerk in regard to Christina, but she maintained plenty of defenders among the other girls, obvious in their confessionals and how they described her demeanor on the Duramed Futures Tour. David seems to have turned off everyone on this show, including possibly his teammate.

[Ben]

Let me put it this way, Most men don't like it when another guy comes up and starts teaching their wife/girlfriend how to play without so much as acknowledging their presence, and they don't like it when another man talks to their balls.

That's the truth.