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Big Break Sandals Resort week 10 is entitled ”El Ultimo Baile,” which translates to “The Last Dance.”

This is it! The final episode of Big Break Sandals Resort! The duel to the death (well, not really) between Carling “Crusher” Coffing and Lili “Annihilator” Alvarez!!!

If you’ve missed any of the previous episodes, check out the Big Break Sandals Resort episodes recap.

The episode starts out with the two remaining contestants taking in a beautiful sunrise before eating an uncomfortable breakfast. Paul, the butler/wise-man in disguise, comes in, this week not offering an envelope, but some inspirational words, “Let the competition be fierce, let it be competitive and do it from the heart.”

The final challenge

The final challenge of Big Break Sandals Resort is (as many of you suspected) 18 holes of match play. Since a full match would take well over four hours of video to record every shot, they speed things up and give us clips from each hole, which.. makes it a bit difficult to recap..

1st hole – all square
2nd hole – Lili 1up
3rd hole – Lili 1up
4th hole – all square
5th hole – all square
6th hole – all square
7th hole – Carling 1up
8th hole – Carling 1up
9th hole – all square

Up to this point, we’ve not seen particularly good “championship” play from either Carling or Lili and Carling said it best “it was embarrassing, it’s like all of the sudden we’re playing like 25 handicaps..” Which, I take offense to! I suspect, however, it’s due mostly to a little creative control on the part of the producers, instead of lack of skill from the final two of Big Break Sandals Resort.

10th hole – all square
11th hole – with two decent tee shots, Lili two putts and Carling flubs her pitch shot and leaves herself a long par putt, which she misses, resulting in Lili 1up.

12th hole – Lili had momentum going and Carling was reeling a bit, but a waterball from Lili helped calm her nerves. Lili recovered nicely however landing her 3rd shot within 10 feet. Carling has a long 50 foot birdie putt which she missed, leaving herself a relatively easy par putt. Lili missed her par putt, scoring a bogey. Carling, who’s putter has been on fire the entire round, shockingly missed her par putt, keeping Lili 1up.

13th hole – Two nice tee shots from each player, sets them both up for birdie putts, which Lili misses and Carling sinks, making it all square.

14th hole – Two drives in the fairway, two nice approach shots, both with birdie opportunities. Lili misses her birdie putt and Carling makes hers, setting Carling 1up.

15th hole – Carling hits a nice tee shot that ends up in the fairway and Lili, having a slight meltdown lands her drive in the hazard, which is a bunch of treacherous rocks that are near some treacherous water.. She takes the drop and recovers nicely, ending up on the green with a par putt. Carling ends up on the green with a birdie putt. Lili missed her par putt and Carling missed her birdie putt, leaving Carling 1up.

16th hole – Carling blocks her tee shot a bit landing in the right side rough and Lili knocks a sphincter-clencher that barely clears the rocks and ends up in the middle of the fairway. A ballzy shot to make on the final episode if Big Break Sandals Resorts, but I guess the ability to pull those off is what makes them do this for a living! Carling’s next shot landed near the bunker and Lili’s was on the green. She misses her birdie putt, making par, putting some pressure on Carling, who misses her par putt for a bogey, making the match all square with two left to play.

17th hole – Two nice drives with Lili away, she hits a beautiful approach shot landing it nice and snug. Carling’s approach shot wasn’t nearly as pretty giving herself a tough 25 foot birdie putt. Putting a roll on it like only Carling can, she sinks the putt. Lili missed her birdie putt by inches.. leaving Carling 1up going into the 18th hole.

18th hole - Both tee shots landed in the fairway, and Carling’s second shot also landed in the sweet grass. Lili’s second shot, in a horrible stroke of luck, stops nestled up against a mini palm tree. She takes an unplayable lie drop. Carling 3rds shot lands on the fringe. Lili hits her 4th shot from 135 yards out and knocks it to twelve feet. Carling’s 4th shot is a 35 yard putt from the fringe that stops an inch from the hole, thus knocking Lili Alvarez out.

Carling Coffing is the Champion of Big Break Sandals Resort!

Man what an awesome episode! Mine was a house divided, I was rooting for Carling and my wife was rooting for Lili, which is completely understandable, Lili is an awesome competitor and an incredible good sport. I was impressed with the way Lili stoically took the loss, congratulating Carling and saying she deserved it.

I wish they had filmed the ending differently. The immediate cut from the winning putt to a bunch of cut footage of earlier episodes and players, than a rushed handing over of the trophy with no final words from the winner, was, in my opinion poorly planned and executed.

Ah well.. it was a great season! Over at intothegrain.com, John posted up an interview with Carling Coffing discussing her experiences on the show. I’m sad that it’s over, but we don’t have to wait too long for the next season.

Your thoughts on the series?

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Big Break Sandals Resort week 9 is entitled ”A Curious Trio.” If you’ve missed any of the previous episodes, check out the Big Break Sandals Resort episodes recap.

Sorry it’s taken me so long to get this post up, we recently had a new addition to the family and I haven’t time to watch or write about Big Break Sandals Resort this week. Thank god for the DVR!

We’re down to the final three contestants, Carling Coffing, Lili Alvarez and Sara Brown. At the breakfast table, Carling received the days clue which read “with the exemption into the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, the question is, how does your game stack up to Lorena’s? In today’s challenge, we’ll find out.”

Immunity Challenge

This weeks immunity challenge pits the three contestants up against Lorena Ochoa’s stats. The first part, is a driving challenge where each will hit three drives and if it’s in the fairway past the 22o yard mark, they’ll get a point, if it’s past the 265 yard mark, which is Lorena Ochoa’s average driving distance, they’ll get two points.

The second part is an approach shot challenge where they’ll have three shots to hit it within 18 feet of the flag, which is Lorena’s average distance from the flag on approach shots. If they land on the green it’s one point, if they land within 18 feet, it’s two.

The final part of the challenge is a putting challenge, where they’re up against Lorena’s just under two putts average. They’ll putt two balls from three different locations and if they end within the circle it’s one point and if they sink the putt, it’s two points.

At the end of the challenge, the player with the most points wins immunity and will be in the final two for Big Break Sandals Resort.

The challenge takes place on the first hole at Sandals Resort Emerald Reef Golf Club. This is a par five, 502 yard hole.

Sara is first..

1st drive – missed right
2nd drive – missed water
3rd drive – hit at 260 yards

and walked away with one point.

Carling is second..

1st drive – hit around 240 yards
2nd drive – hit around 235 yards
3rd drive – hit over 265 yards

and walks away with four points.

Lili is the last up..

1st drive – hit over 265
2nd drive – hit over 265
3rd drive – hit around 250

and walks away with five points taking an early lead over Sara and Carling.

The second piece of the challenge is an approach shot from 100 yards that needs to land within 18 feet.

Sara is up first again.

1st shot – landed within 18 feet with a pretty awesome check-up and roll back
2nd shot – landed within 18 feet to about three feet
3rd shot – landed within 18 feet and after two bounces, the ball stopped dead.

She had a very impressive comeback leaving the second part with six points giving her a total of seven so far in the challenge.

Carling is up next..

1st shot – landed within 18 feet
2nd shot – landed within 18 feet but rolled outside of the circle by three inches.
3rd shot – missed the circle and the gree.

and walks away from the second part with three points, giving her an overall score of seven, tied with Sara.

Lili is up last and has a great opportunity to give herself some cushion.

1st shot – missed the green
2nd shot – lands on the green and does the opposite of Carling by barely rolling into the circle
3rd shot – lands within the circle.

She walks alway with four and an overall score of nine, leading the other Big Break Sandals Resorts contestants by two strokes.

The final location features two putts, a 60 footer and a 35 footer. If the contestants end within the five foot circle around the pin it’s one point and if they sink the putt, it’s two.

60 footer

Sara – first putt was awesome, ending a little past the hole within the circle and her second putt ended just barely in the circle. At this point, she’s tied the challenge with Lili at nine points.

Carling – first putt rolls passed the hole and outside of the circle and her second putt makes in the circle leaving her one point behind Lili and Sara.

Lili – first putt rolls passed the hole and stopped in the center of the line of the five foot circle and her second putt rolled in and then back out of the circle. She leaves the 60 footer with a total of ten, one point ahead of Sara and two points ahead of Carling.

35 footer

Carling – first putt stops three inches from the hole, well within the circle and her second rolls passed the hole still in the circle. She is now tied for the lead with Lili.

Sara – first putt lands in the circle and she is now tied for the lead with Lili and Carling. Her second putt stop within the circle giving herself an 11. She now has the lead.

Lili – first putt stops in the circle and she is now tied for the lead with Sara. Her second putt also stops in the circle, giving her a score of 12, landing her immunity and naming her the first of the final two contestants on Big Break Sandals Resorts.

Elimination Challenge

The elimination challenge is three hole stroke play between Carling Coffing and Sara Brown and it’s taking place on the 15th, 16, and 12th holes. This is a pretty awesome match-up, I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve been waiting for this battle for quite some time. In my opinion, this is going to be as intense, if not greater than the finale.

15th Hole – Par 5 – 506 Yards

Sara is up first, takes a crack with her driver and it landed in the water. Carling pulls out her three wood and lands it in the fairway. Carling is away with 266 yards and lays-up, landing it in the fairway. Sara had to take a drop, so her third shot is from 258 yards out. She makes a smart play and lays up. Carling’s third shot is 123 yards from the hole and her nice & easy nine iron lands her in a green side bunker. Sara’s fourth shot is from 118 yards and lands it on the green. Carling’s fourth shot from the bunker makes it out but just barely, leaving her a long par putt. She left the putt short. Sara hits her par putt pin high, giving herself a tap-in six putting a little pressure on Carling, who, sinks the putt.

After one hole, the ladies are tied up at +1.

16th Hole – Par 4 – 330 Yards

Sara is up first, pulls out the driver again and this time, finds the fairway. Carling follows suit. Sara is away and her 2nd shot is from 133 yards. She lands the shot in the greenside rough. Carling has 129 yards and stuffs it on the green about 10 feet from the hole. Sara has a pin high chip shot from a pretty poor lie, looks like shes chipping out of a wasteland. She hits a good shot that stops about three feet from the hole.

Carling has an awesome opportunity to gain a stroke on Sara but she fails to capitalize on it, missing her birdie putt by about an inch, tapping in for par. Sara also makes her par putt.

After two holes, the ladies of this Big Break Sandals Resort Week 9 elimination challenge are still tied at +1.

12th Hole – Par 4 – 354 Yards

Sara is still up first and elects to leave the driver in the bag. With her three wood, she lands her tee shot in the right  rough, missing the fairway bunker by six feet. Carling also lands her three woods in the right rough. Carling’s second shot was from 159 yards and she hits a great shot landing about 18 feet from the hole. Sara is out 138 yards and his a clutch six iron, knocking it inside Carling.

Both players have a birdie putt, Carling is away and Sara’s ball is right in her putting line, which will give Sara a great read on her putt. Carling sets up, strokes her ball and NAILS THE PUTT!! (and the crowd goes wild!!!) Sara is now in the trouble seat with a worlds worth of pressure on her shoulders. She missed the putt.

After an intense three holes, Sara Brown is the ninth player eliminated from Big Break Sandals Resort.

This was a bitter sweet moment, at this late in the game you really don’t want to see any of the players go home because they’re all extremely talented. That’s the bitter part, the sweet part is my girl Carling from “Team Booty-licious” made it to the final two!

Can’t wait for the finale!

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Big Break Sandals Resort week 8 is entitled ”Know Yourself.” If you’ve missed any of the previous episodes, check out the Big Break Sandals Resort episodes recap.

We’re down to the top four, Lili Alvarez, Carling Coffing, Sara Brown and Taryn Durham. The episode opens to a tension filled breakfast and an envelope delivered stating that the save/send card is out (finally) and will be replaced with cold hard cash.

In the first immunity challenge of Big Break episode 8, the contestants will have to play out from a series of locations and have twelve strokes to do it in. The locations are a three and five foot putt, green side bunker shot, a 75 yard shot and finally the par 3 second hole from Sandals Resort. The player who does this in the fewest amount of shots, wins immunity and $5,000 cash from Dicks Sporting Goods.

At the three foot putt, the scores are as follows..

Sara – 1 stroke (11 remaining)
Carling – 1 stroke (11 remaining)
Taryn – 1 stroke (11 remaining)
Lili – 1 stroke (11 remaining)

From the five foot putt, the scores are as follows..

Sara – 2 strokes (9 remaining)
Carling – 1 stroke (10 remaining)
Taryn – 1 stroke (10 remaining)
Lili – 2 strokes (9 remaining)

Green Side Bunker shot..

Sara – 3 strokes, 1 wedge, 2 putts (6 remaining)
Lili - 2 strokes, 1 wedge, 1 putt (7 remaining)
Carling – 3 strokes, 1 wedge, 2 putts (7 remaining)
Taryn – 3 strokes, 1 wedge, 2 putts (7 remaining)

75 yards out..

Sara – 4 strokes, 1 wedge that landed within three feet and then spun back to about 10 feet , 2 putts and a one stroke penalty.. When she grounded her putter behind the ball for the tap in second putt, the ball rolled back a fraction of an inch resulting in a replacement of the ball and a penalty stroke.. (2 remaining)
Lili - 3 strokes, 1 wedge landed on the fringe past the hole and spun on to the green, 2 putts (4 remaining)
Carling – 1 wedge that landed about 8 feet and rolled back to about twelve feet, 2 putts (4 remaining)
Taryn – 3 strokes, 1 wedge that landed past the hole on the fringe, 2 putts (4 remaining)

Final location, the par 3 second hole..

Sara - 1 stroke that pull hooked into the water, thus eliminating her from the challenge
Lili – 2 strokes, her first shot landed 21 feet short, and an amazing one putt leaving her two strokes remaining and applying some serious pressure on Carling and Taryn
Carling – 4 strokes, she hooked her first shot into the water and located it sitting near the edge about one inch under the water. She suited up in her splash gear and tried to hit it out with a 60 degree wedge. The ball couldn’t be located and thus she was eliminated
Taryn – 3 strokes, her first shot is on the green about 20 feet past the hole. She two putted and is eliminated.

The elimination challenge takes place on the 16th hole and the three remaining contestants will hole out at three different locations, from 110 yards, 150 yards and 235 yards. The player with the highest number of strokes after the three locations will be the next contestant eliminated from Big Break Sandals Resort.

From 110 yards..

Carling went first and she chose her nine iron and hit the shot into the front left bunker. Taryn went next and also landed in the bunker. Lastly Sara, she chose to aim right and her shot ended up in the same bunker. Sara’s second shot from the green side bunker landed pin high about 8 feet. Carling’s bunker shot landed on the green about 40 feet from the flag. Taryn hit the best of the shots and landed it about six feet. Carling’s putt ended about five feet and Sara sank her next putt, giving her a three for the hole. Taryn holed out as well and scored a three. Carling sank her nervy putt giving herself a four.

From 150 yards out, Carling is one off the lead with four and Taryn and Sara are tied with three. Taryn is up first  and hits a pretty bad shot that lands about six feet from the water, in the bunker. Sara lands her shot on the green about 30 feet passed the hole. Carling’s shot lands on the green about ten feet from the flag. Taryn hits her bunker shot out and overshoots the green, landing the ball in the fringe on the other side of the hole. Sara’s second putt rolls past the hole stopping about four feet away. Taryn elects to use the putter on her next shot and it stops within three feet. She taps in for four, giving herself seven after the first two holes. Carling sinks an awesome putt giving herself a two for the hole and a six after two holes. Regrettably, I have to assess her a couple DBI points because she complained a bit to the camera about the putt. Sara sinks her putt giving herself a three for the hole and a six overall.

After two locations, Carling scoots into the lead with Sara, putting Taryn into the elimination hot seat. The final location is the 235 yard shot from the forward tees on the 16th hole of Sandals Resort. Sara is up first and decides to play it safe leaving the driver in the bag and opting for a long iron. Her shot lands in the middle of the fairway. Carling is up next and chooses a hybrid for her tee shot. She hits it and watches it float left, landing in the ‘crap.’ She has a playable shot, but not a very fun one.. Taryn is up last, hits (i believe) her three wood that began way right and ended up in the fairway next to Sara’s ball. A pretty solid testament to how much wind is on the hole.

Carling’s next shot was sitting up pretty nice, but the ball was way above her feet. She hit a punch shot land landed on the fringe, well past the hole. All things considered it was a pretty good shot. Taryn landed her shot on the green, leaving herself a long putt. Sara hit her pitching wedge, landing it on the green, also leaving herself a long putt. Carling’s next shot was a pitch shot that stopped about 8 feet above the hole. Taryn has a crucial long putt, that if she makes, will guarantee her a playoff. She missed it, leaving herself a tap-in eleven. Sara is sitting eight, with a good opportunity to win the challenge, she leaves it short. Carling is sitting nine and sinks her putt, paving her way to the top three. Sara also sinks her putt for a total of ten.

With a final score of eleven, Taryn Durham is the eighth player eliminated from Big Break Sandals Resort.

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Big Break Sandals Resort week 7 is entitled ”Know Your Enemies.” If you’ve missed any of the previous episodes, check out the Big Break Sandals Resort episodes recap.

The episode beings at a quiet breakfast table with the five remaining contestants enjoying a silent breakfast. The immunity challenge this week is a three shot challenge, where players will alternate shots from three different locations. The first player to score three points wins the challenge and is safe and on to the next show. Also, the winner will receive a save/send card and spend the rest of the afternoon at the Sandals Resorts Red Lane spa.

The first location was a shot from the fairway around 90 yards from the flag. Seema started off the event and hits her first shot way short. Taryn went second and also landed it shot. Carling was third and overshot the target, but with some crazy backspin the ball finished in the circle. Lili went fourth and also landed it in the circle. Sara was last and missed.

The second location was a sidehill-uphill shot. Taryn went first and missed. Carling went second and scored. Lili went third and scored with the ball about two inches from rolling out of the circle. Sara went fourth and rolled the ball into the circle and then back out. Seema was last to go and scored!

The last pin location was a greenside bunker shot. Going into this shot, Carling and Lili are tied with two points with Carling up first. She hit a very nice shot and landed it about three feet from the flag. Making the shot, she’s eliminated Taryn, Seema and Sara and has put some serious pressure on Lili. Unfortunately, Lili’s shot sailed over the green and landed in the rough, giving Carling the win.

With the save/send card in hand, Carling marches up and down the range, spinning the card, deliberating on whether or not to send a strong player to the elimination challenge or save a weaker player she knew she could beat down the road. She ended up saving Taryn, which I think was a bad move. I think she should’ve sent Lili or Sara to the elimination challenge. Now, rather than having a better shot at eliminating one of your top rivals, you’ve left the weakest player (Seema) to play against two strong players like Lili and Sara, who, I think will eat her alive. The end result is that you have two tough contenders still left, bearing a slight grudge.

So whilst Carling and Taryn spend the afternoon at the spa, the remaining contestants of Big Break Sandals Resort head to the second immunity challenge.

The second immunity challenge is a round robin matchup where each player will draw a golf ball from a bag. Each golf ball is numbered 1, 2, or 3. The order of the matchups are as follows…

1 vs 2
2 vs 3
3 vs 1

The player in the first positon gets to choose where they to hole out from. The player who wins the match gets two points and if they tie, each player gets one point. At the end of the matches, the player with the highest score is safe from elimination. Seema drew #1, Sara #2 and Lili #3.

The first matchup between Sara and Seema takes place 110 yards out from the hole with a pretty intimidating bunker inbetween. Both players first shots left them with a 30 footer from the fringe. Both missed their second shots, Seema’s about three inches from the hole and Sara’s about four feet. Both made their third shots and tied.

The next matchup is between Sara and Lili. Sara chose a freaking bunker shot from 179 yards out. Both players overshot the green, Sara landing in the same spot as before and Lili leaving herself a wedge 2nd shot. Lili landed her second shot about five feet past the hole. Sara left her second shot inches away. With a tap in three for Sara, the pressure is on for Lili. She sank the putt, tieing the match with Sara.

The final match is between Lili and Seema and Lili also elects to play from the bunker at 160 yards out. Both players had a poor first shot, Seema left it way short, leaving herself a second shot over the bunker whilst Lili overshot the green, again, giving herself a wedge back. Seema hit a great wedge shot and landed it about five feet from the flag. Lili’s second shot ended four feet below the pin. Seema’s putt lipped out and Lili nailed it, winning the challenge and sending Sara and Seema to elimination.

Big Break Sandals Resort Week Seven’s elimination challenge is a two hole stroke play on the par 4 eighth and the par 5 ninth. Seema started things off with a nice tee shot landing in the fairway. Sara one-upped her landing it in the center of the fairway about 20 yards past. Seema’s second shot landed short on the fringe and Sara’s shot landed short ON the green but with enough backspin to roll it right back OFF the green ending up with the same shot as Seema. Crazy.. Seema chipped it to within a foot  and Sara putted it too hard but straight, hitting the flag and stopping about two feet from the hole. Both sank the next putt scoring par.

On the par 5 ninth, both cranked beautiful drives, center of the fairway with Seema outdriving Sara. Sara’s second shot landed center of the fairway, 85 yards from the flag whilst Seema’s ended 77 yards away, in the rough, next to a bunker, giving her a very tough third shot. Sara’s third shot landed on the green twenty feet past the hole. Seema had a difficult shot, with her heels in the bunker and her toes on a ledge, her stance was very unstable thus, not surprising, her shot rolled off the back of the green on the fringe. Her fourth shot ended about six feet from the flag. Sara’s fourth shot stopped one inch from the hole, giving her a tap-in par, putting a tremendous amount of pressure on Seema. She missed the putt and is going home.

With her luck all used up, Seema Sadekar is the seventh player to be sent home from Big Break Sandals Resort.

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