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Written by BRENT LONG, Photography by MARK ASHMAN/Golf Channel

Prince Edward Island's "Big Break" should be a chip off the old island when the popular Golf Channel reality series launches into its 11th season later this month.

Canada's tiniest province has long been a leading golf destination for avid golfers, but with the airing of Big Break XI starting April 20th this show promises to open a door to American and international golf enthusiasts and travellers.

Shot last September at the signature Rodd Mill River Resort in Prince Edward Island, this marks the first time a Canadian location has hosted Big Break and it will also be broadcast in HD for the first time!

"Everyone on the island is very excited about the show. It's seen as one of the most-broad reaching initiatives that PEI has ever taken into the United States and across North America," says Barry McLeod, Executive Director for Golf PEI. "It's creating tremendous awareness for PEI and gives us instant credibility internationally."

It is all about the money when it comes to Big Break XI. Traditionally players have competed for exemptions to play various tour events, but for the first time these Big Breakers will be taking their best shot at $100,000 in cash - that could provide the winner a means to finance their dream of playing on a Tour for an entire year or they could buy a new car and pocket the change!

Big Break XI will showcase six females and six males including Canadian Derek Gillespie in a competition that tests every phase of their games, course management and mental toughness. Each of the 12 contestants will compete on equal ground with no consideration of gender when it comes to elimination.

"We're also very excited to be launching the International Couples Golf Festival this year from July 9 to 13," McLeod says. "By the time we know the winner, I hope PEI is perceived as the No. 1 Canadian golf destination and seen as a wonderful alternative compared to further and most expensive golf destinations in Ireland and Scotland."

The two-year partnership between Tourism PEI and Golf Channel will bring Prince Edward Island to 30 million homes in 60 countries around the world and 80 million homes in Canada and the US and hopefully yours!

The 12 competitors in Big Break Prince Edward Island are:

Kim Kouwabunpat (27, Upland, Calif.) - Focused and driven, Kouwabunpat has the uncanny ability to pick herself up when she's been knocked down. The former Stanford University golfer has played on professional tours all over the world in her attempt to make it to the LPGA Tour.

Blair O'Neal

Derek Gillespie

Gerina Mendoza

The cast of Big Break XI

Caroline Larsson (24, Orlando, Fla.) - The Stockholm, Sweden, native is considered to be one of the most talented competitors in the field. An accomplished player on the Duramed FUTURES Tour over the last two years, she competed in the 2007 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.

Brenda McLarnon (25, Charleston, S.C.) - The Belfast, Ireland, native is brutally honest and outspoken, and brings humor and conflict to everything she does. Having played the Duramed FUTURES Tour the last three years, she learned the sacrifice it takes to play professional golf and is ready to capitalize on the hard-earned experience.

Gerina Mendoza (23, Roswell, N.M.) - Mendoza picked up the game in her late teens but is one of the most naturally gifted competitors in the series. A member of the Duramed FUTURES Tour, last year she competed in the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, where she missed the cut. With her length off the tee, Mendoza will be a force to be reckoned with in Big Break Prince Edward Island for both the ladies and men.

Blair O'Neal (27, Tempe, Ariz.) - A four-year starter at Arizona State University, she twice won the NCAA Long Drive Championship but has been out of professional golf since 2006 pursuing a modeling career. Before leaving the fairway for the runway, she competed on numerous Tours around the world.

Nicole Sikora (25, Yonkers, NY) - Sikora may be the most inexperienced competitor on Big Break Prince Edward Island. After an unsuccessful rookie year on the DURAMED FUTURES Tour in 2007, she accepted a job on Wall Street as an executive assistant for a New York stock broker. Golf has taken a backseat, but now that her business career is on the fast track, she is slowly finding more time to re-devote to the game.

Derek Gillespie (30, Oshawa, ON) - The only Canadian in the cast, Gillespie was once labeled "the next great Canadian golfer" by fellow countryman and PGA TOUR professional Mike Weir. One of the most talented and experienced in the cast, Gillespie is looking to realize his dream of playing on the PGA TOUR after many years of missed opportunities and bad breaks.

Robert Read (30, Seekonk, Mass.) - Reid turned professional to play in Big Break Prince Edward Island. Read will use his humor and prodigious length to level the playing field. Quite the bomber, he has hit drives over 420 yards in long drive competitions.

Eugene Smith (30, Glen Ridge, NJ) - Smith won the 2000 NCAA Big East Championship and later was the Seton Hall Athlete of the Year in 2001. The Canadian Tour veteran once shot 59 at his home course in New Jersey in a round that included a hole in one.

Brian Skatell (36, Virginia Beach, Va.) - A very confident player, Skatell prides himself on his meticulous work ethic and considers himself to be mentally strong. Though lacking the same amount of tournament experience as many of the other contestants, he firmly believes that even the best in the field can't match his skill level.

William Thompson (22, Bracey, Va.) - A self-admitted and rather obvious country boy, William "Football" Thompson will be one of the most unique personalities in the cast. The youngest competitor, his Big Break experience will be a trial by fire.

Aaron Wright (31, Orlando, Fla.) - Wright put his dream of playing on the PGA TOUR on hold to serve a six-year tour of duty with the Marines, including a five-month stint in Afghanistan. In 2008, the United States Naval Academy graduate played the Hooters Tour and made the cut in a Nationwide Tour event. He lost to Tiger Woods 4&3 in the quarterfinal match of the 1992 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.

03/2009