Premiering Monday, Feb. 24, BIG BREAK FLORIDA to Feature All-Female Cast on Golf Courses of Omni Amelia Island Plantation
BIG BREAK Champion to Receive Exemption to 2014 Manulife Financial LPGA Classic and Exempt Status on 2015 Symetra Tour
ORLANDO, Fla. (Nov. 4, 2013) – Golf Channel’s popular BIG BREAK reality
competition series has picked Amelia Island, Fla., as the competition
grounds for its 21st season, premiering Monday, Feb. 24, 2014.
BIG BREAK FLORIDA,
produced in partnership with VISIT FLORIDA and taking place at Omni
Amelia Island Plantation, will feature a cast of 12 women competing to
make their lifelong dreams of playing alongside the world’s top golfers
come true. The winner of BIG BREAK FLORIDA will receive an exemption to
the 2014 Manulife Financial LPGA Classic (June 5-8, 2014), exempt status on the 2015 Symetra Tour with all entry fees waived, cash and other prizes.
Filmed
on location in October, the series will unfold 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.
“BIG
BREAK is a cornerstone of our original series franchises, and it has
proven to be a launching pad for many professional golfers hoping to
break through to the LPGA Tour, including Solheim Cup veterans Kristy
McPherson, Ryann O’Toole and Gerina Piller,” said Golf Channel Senior
Vice President of Programming Tom Knapp. “One of our objectives for BIG
BREAK is to place the contestants in tournament golf conditions while
showcasing a picturesque destination, and we accomplished both with BIG
BREAK FLORIDA. We are excited to partner with VISIT FLORIDA and Omni
Amelia Island Plantation for the series’ 21st season.”
“Golf
Channel's selection of Omni Amelia Island Plantation as home to BIG
BREAK FLORIDA validates our exceptional golf offerings and provides us
with an incredibly unique opportunity to showcase the resort as a
premier golf destination,” said Paul Eckert, general manager of Omni
Amelia Island Plantation. “We are very excited and honored to represent
the Omni brand, as well as the great state of Florida.”
“Big
Break Florida is the start of a relationship between VISIT FLORIDA, NBC
Sports and the Golf Channel that will showcase Florida as a preferred
destination for leisure travel,” said Paul Phipps, VISIT FLORIDA’s Chief
Marketing Officer. “With nearly 1,500 courses to choose from in the
Sunshine State, we look forward to this unique opportunity to reach Big
Break’s audience of avid golf enthusiasts.”
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. During BIG BREAK FLORIDA, the competitors – who
will be announced in January – will be subject to skills challenges from
tee-to-green, including two of the series’ signature challenges, the
popular “Glass Break” and “Flop Wall” challenges. One contestant will
be 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. 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. Several other past BIG
BREAK competitors are currently competing on the LPGA Tour, including
Kim Welch, Nicole Smith and Kelly Jacques.
Follow BIG BREAK on Twitter @BigBreak
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. Customers of participating cable, satellite, telco and
other video subscription services, are able to enjoy 24/7 streaming of
live Golf Channel content through GolfChannel.com and Golf Channel’s mobile application, Golf Live Extra.
Golf Channel’s digital platforms 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.
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.
-NBC Sports Group-
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