Congratulations to Arcadia’s Kevin Erdman for his performance on the Golf Channel’s 10-week competitive reality series, “Big Break Disney Golf,” which concluded with a two-hour showdown Tuesday night.
Larry Stewart
Kevin didn’t win, but to come in third among 12 competitors – all top-notch golfers — was quite an accomplishment. Kevin’s approach to the competition seemed to be, “Aw, shucks, I don’t have a chance against these guys.”
But he was playing opossum. Over the 10 weeks of shows, which were taped in and around Orlando, Fla., during a two-week period in July, Kevin showed that he more than belonged.
Tuesday night’s finale involved straight stroke play over 18 holes, with an exemption into a PGA Tour event and about $40,000 worth of other prizes awaiting the winner.
The competitors were Kevin, Mike Perez and Tony Finau. Going into the 18th hole, Kevin was out of it at two over par. But he didn’t seem to mind. “I’ve got a front-row seat,” he said. “This is going to be fun to watch.”
Perez, who trailed Finau by three shots after 14 holes, birdied 15 and 16 and when Finau hit one in the water on 17 and left a four-foot par putt short, the lead was down to one. Perez then made a long birdie putt on 18 to force a playoff. He won the playoff by making a long birdie putt after Finau put his second shot in a greenside bunker.
“Disney World has a lot of roller coasters,” said show co-host Vince Cellini. “We saw another kind of roller coaster here today.”
It was fun following Kevin and Monrovia’s Blake Moore, who was eliminated on an earlier show, during the 10 weeks the show aired on the Golf Channel. Before the first show aired, both golfers told Arcadiasbest.com how nerve-wracking the competition had been. Now we know what they were talking about.
(See the Erdmans’ story in the 3 1/2-minute video below.)
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