Sandy Coffing wrote a four-page poem — except for that final verse — about her granddaughter’s experience on The Golf Channel’s “Big Break Sandals Resorts.” She read all but the final verse to a crowd of about 60 family members and friends who gathered in their home just before the final episode aired on Monday night, Aug. 23.
She had to wait like everyone else until the end of the one-hour show to see if Coffing, who was one of two finalists battling for the championship, had won. By rolling a 30-foot birdie putt to within an inch of the cup on the 18th hole of a match play battle with Lili Alvarez, the 24-year-old Middletown native was crowned the champion.
“It was nice to be able to watch the episode with friends and family and it was exciting that no one knew what was going to happen,” Coffing said. “I needed that putt and I couldn’t ask for anything more in my life. One minute, I’m just a girl from Middletown practicing at Weatherwax Golf Course, and the next I’m playing on the LPGA Tour. It’s a dream come true.”
The final challenge for Coffing and Alvarez, of El Paso, Texas, was to play an 18-hole match play contest. The winner would be crowned the “Big Break” champion.
After the first 10 holes, the two were tied, but Alvarez took a 1-up lead on the 11th hole that Coffing admitted on the show put her in panic mode.
Coffing then three-putted the 12th hole, but remained down one as Alvarez did not take advantage.
“I was not feeling good after a duff on 11 and a three-whack on 12,” Coffing said. “I was feeling pretty beat.”
But Coffing was able to draw even again on the 13th hole and took a 1-up lead on the 14th hole.
Alvarez brought it back to even on 16, and on the crucial 17th hole, Coffing sank a birdie putt to take a 1-up lead into the final hole.
“Neither one of us was ever more than 1-up on the other,” Coffing said of the back-and-forth match. “I’ve loved competition all my life. I’ve played with my dad and two older brothers my whole life. It’s been a challenge. I think I was pretty cool and calm under pressure and that is what pushed me through the challenges.”
“This is beyond anything we could have comprehended,” Carling’s father Tom said. “We are so proud of her. We spent every penny we ever had for her to have this one-in-a-million shot and it’s all paid off. And she’s earned it.”
Coffing also earned a number of prizes including invitations to the 2010 Lorena Ochoa Invitational on the LPGA Tour, and to the 2010 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters on the Ladies European Tour.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2852 or sweaver@coxohio.com.
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