Bri fought the cut, and the cut won

The second round of the 2007 SBS Open at Turtle Bay drew to a close on Friday with Big Break VI champion Briana Vega in sole possession of last place with a 17-over-par 161. She'll have another go in October at the Longs Drugs Challenge, plus all those tournaments on the FUTURES Tour, plus whatever she wins on Big Break VII.

Ashley Prange, of course, missed the cut in her lone Big Break V exemption, the 2006 Safeway Classic (+10 154), and Danielle Amiee famously withdrew from her second exemption, the 2005 Corning Classic, after posting a +14 156 at the 2005 Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill. (Oh yeah, and the alleged Playboy thing. Those sure looked like her head covers. Ahem!)

ig·no·min·i·ous
Pronunciation: "ig-n&-'mi-nE-&s
Function: adjective
1 : marked with or characterized by disgrace or shame : DISHONORABLE

I've been trying to track down the performances of all the other Big Break winners in their respective exemptions, and that they're so elusive says whatever we need to know. Easy to find the promotional run-up articles, nearly impossible to find the final scores.

OK, granted, I'm a total golf novice, so what do I know, but it seems to me like The Big Break's challenges span every imaginable type of golf shot, a wide range of improbable golf situations, course management, endurance, and psychological pressure. Yes, there's dumb superficial reality show drama, but with very few exceptions one's fate rests with one's ability to make golf shots. I wonder what it is that fails to translate into tournament success?

I guess the main observation is the damning one. Q School and the developmental tours offer pretty straightforward paths to earning status on a major tour, and if these contestants could cut it on those paths, they wouldn't need The Big Break.

Indeed, Kristy McPherson and Sarah Lynn Sargent each earned their 2007 exempt status the old-fashioned way (FUTURES Tour money list and Q School, respectively), and both of them trounced Bri Vega at the SBS even after she "bested" them on BBVI.

Oh well. I'm still gonna watch VII. :)