A crowd of about 60 family members and friends that had gathered to watch the show at the home of Tom and Sandy Coffing — Carling’s grandparents — erupted on the putt.
“That’s pretty sweet,” said friend Joe Lanier.
Then the crowd prodded her to do the birdie dance she made famous on the show. She obliged.
“She was cool under pressure and we could not be more proud,” said Tom Coffing, the golfer’s father. “This is the greatest moment of our lives.”
Coffing was one of 11 players vying for The Big Break championship, which was filmed over 14 days in February. Each week, beginning back on June 21, one player was eliminated ending up at Alvarez and Coffing as the final two competitors.
The two engaged in an 18-hole match play contest with the winner walking away as the overall champion.
“One minute, I’m just a girl from Middletown practicing at Weatherwax Golf Course, and the next I’m playing on the LPGA Tour,” Coffing said of how she was feeling. “Every time I wake up, I wonder if it was a dream, but it is really a dream comer true.”
Among the prizes Coffing will receive for winning the event is an invitation to the 2010 Lorena Ochoa Invitational presented by Banamex and Corona Light on the LPGA Tour. She also receives an invitation to play in the 2010 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters on the Ladies European Tour.
“Since I was a little girl, my dad always taught me about handling pressure,” Coffing said. “It really paid off.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2852, or sweaver@coxohio.com.
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