VERO BEACH — All season long Jackie Stoelting, of Vero Beach, has remained cool, calm, and collected during her season of the Golf Channel’s “Big Break” competition. Now, after 10 women have been eliminated, Stoelting remains as one of the final two competitors.
Next Monday, the nation will watch as Stoelting battles it out with Fiamma Felitch, of Oklahoma City, Okla., for an LPGA Classic exemption, Symetra Tour season exemption, cash prize of $50,000, a handful of other perks, and the title of 2014 “Big Break Florida” Champion.
Of the final four players featured on last Monday evening’s episode, Stoelting was the only one who had managed to steer clear of all elimination challenges.
Elimination challenges occur at the end of each episode and involve a face-off between the player who came in last during the day’s challenges and the competitor of that player’s choice. In order to surely avoid an elimination match, players had the opportunity each episode to win an immunity challenge.
Stoelting won several throughout the competition.
The last episode featuring the final four women put Stoelting on the hot seat as the group played three holes of golf in which only the top two players would advance to the final episode.
“It was the most nerve-racking episode because half of us were going home. And, it was straight golf,” Stoelting told VeroNews.com.
Stoelting played alongside Mary Narzisi, of Omaha, Neb., and the pair went first, ahead of Felitch and the fourth remaining competitor, Renee Skidmore.
Stoelting said she knew that going first met setting the mark the other players had to reach and she was prepared to set the bar high.
During her final hole, Stoelting hit her ball into a green side bunker on the edge of a water hazard.
“I pulled it,” Stoelting said. “I actually thought it was in the water, so when I got there, it was a little calming to see it sitting in the bunker.”
Even though she narrowly avoided the water, Stoelting said she is the first to admit that bunker shots are her biggest weakness.
“During the episode, they showed me saying, ‘You’re the best bunker player in the world,’ as I walked up to the ball,” Stoelting said. She continued, “I was really trying to give myself a pep talk when I said that.”
After hitting a beautiful shot landing near enough to the pin to sink a birdie putt and secure her par score, Stoelting said she knew her husband would be proud of her ability to perform from the bunker under pressure.
After three holes Stoelting led Narzisi, the player who had become known for brash talk and intimidation tactics, by two strokes. So long as either Felitch or Skidmore came up short of Stoelting’s even par, she was safe and into the next round.
“I felt like I played my heart out,” Stoelting said on the episode. At the time, she was still not guaranteed a position in the final two, but she said, “I at least put up a great number today to try and make it to the final two. You know, I didn’t give it away.”
Par turned out to be just the score Stoelting needed at the end of the episode, when she tied Felitch and beat Skidmore by one stroke.
Unlike most tournaments Stoelting plays in, going into the final episode of “Big Break,” Stoelting had to be her own mentor. Usually, her husband serves as her sounding board and coach, helping her strategize for each tournament.
After eliminating Narzisi and Skidmore, she said she focused on thinking through each hole of the course, and putting herself in a positive and confident place to face Felich in the ultimate showdown the next day.
Even though she never doubted her ability to place in the final two, Stoelting said she knew she would have to “play very solid,” in order to get there.
“The girls on my season were all very talented and hit some great shots. The competition was really stacked.” She continued, “Fiamma is a great competitor, you’re going to see a great match between the two of us.”
Tune into the Golf Channel next Monday at 9 p.m. to watch Stoelting and Felitch square off in the final and most important game of the “Big Break” season.