‘Big Break’ came right on cue

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This article was published 18/07/2009 (6231 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The depth of Canadian Tour fields has been an underestimated quality for some time. And now in addition to so many elite professional players at Pine Ridge for this week’s Players Cup, there’s a bona fide celebrity teeing it up as well.

 

Meet Derek Gillespie, winner of Golf Channel’s Big Break Prince Edward Island.

The 31-year-old native of Oshawa, Ont., has been a Canadian Tour member since 2000, won twice and had many career ups and downs while he struggles to make it to the PGA Tour.

Little did he realize what an adventure the Big Break would be.

"When the final episode was broadcast (in June), Blair (other finalist) and I had to do this live chat and for an hour-and-a-half, I could hardly respond to the amount of messages that were coming in," Gillespie said. "And when I played with Wayne Gretzky last week at his tournament, I couldn’t believe the kids. They were saying, ‘That’s Derek from Big Break,’ stuff like that. It was pretty cool. Even a lot of older women were loving it, that I was there playing. They watched that show. I couldn’t believe the number of people that did. It was cool deal."

Free Press golf writer Tim Campbell sat down with Gillespie earlier this week to find out more about it.

 

FP: Last year at this tournament, a Golf Channel person was hounding you about some Big Break application paperwork. Is that when this story started?

Gillespie: "I had done the interview with them two weeks before in Edmonton. I wasn’t going to do it but they asked me to come in again and I agreed. Next thing I know, I’m getting a call and I’m a semifinalist to get on the show and eventually got on. It was a fun process. I had no idea what to expect. I don’t think anybody really knows. During that early interview one of the questions was what were my three interests. I remember just being done a pro-am and I was tired and hungry so I said, ‘Food, beer and women.’ It was because I was starving, the beer looked good because I was hot and women, I just threw that out there. They kind of fed off that for a while and I had to play it out."

 

FP: You weren’t interested in the show originally?

Gillespie: "They asked me one time and I didn’t really get what they were saying and I just said, ‘Nah.’ Something about a Big Break Canada. But then they asked again and he was there and it was the last day of interviews so I just did it. Maybe he just caught me at a bad time of day the first time. I’m glad they asked me again.

 

FP: You did the show in September in P.E.I. How long did it take and what was that like?

Gillespie: "It was two weeks at Mill River, an all-day thing every day. I had never been to P.E.I. so it was disappointing I didn’t get to experience more, but being one of the last two, I didn’t get to experience much else, which sucked. People that got voted off early got to see the island but at the end of the day, I’d rather have my situation."

 

FP: There was a big cone of secrecy during and after the show was shot, no?

Gillespie: "It was funny. The only time we got off site was for a promo the second day and we stopped by the store and (competitor) Ryan wanted some Red Bull because of all the early mornings and he snuck a paper and it was on the front page that Mill River was closed for some kind of TV and somebody had a snap of the Big Break sign on the range. After it was over, I forget what the contract said but I think it was you could be sued for a million bucks, something like that, if you gave it (the results) away but I wasn’t going to tell anyone. People have asked me if it was hard keeping the secret because in September, I was excited afterward, but once a couple weeks went by, I was getting ready for Q-school and I wasn’t thinking about it anymore. By the time everyone found out I was on the show, it was February and I was over it. It was easy then."

 

FP: A lot of people watch the show. What would viewers be surprised to learn about behind the scenes?

Gillespie: "It’s reality TV. We had early mornings, up at 5:30 to eat breakfast and everything’s so structured. Or at lunch, you couldn’t hit balls because it’s considered a game show and you couldn’t have that up on the others. There was a lot of waiting. We’d hit balls for a half-hour to warm up. It was cold and we get shuttled out to the hole, do the intro with (host) Stina and they might screw it up a few times and that takes half an hour and then they reset the cameras and so from the time you warm up to hitting a shot could be an hour, hour-and-a-half. It might have been a 100-yard shot but I was freezing, sitting on a bench for an hour trying to hit a feel shot to green so sloped and it’s wet — I don’t have that shot. It was more difficult than people think, plus there were cameras all over you all the time."

 

FP: At times on the show, it seemed like there was a lot of friction between the players. True or false?

Gillespie: "Good question. A couple of girls, maybe. Guys were cool. Brian was just the way he is. Women, that Nicole, I don’t know what to say, but there could have been a cat-fight or two. Especially when there was alcohol involved. They stir you up. You get back after a long day, you have dinner, eat together, then hop in the shower and you’re tired and ready for bed and you’ve got the wine and alcohol and then they ask you all these questions. Sometimes they ask the same question twice so you’ll just let go. In the contract, I read they could portray it any way they want, so you had to sign off on that. So they kind of trick you into saying things. You actually say it but the unlimited alcohol is there to make you go that way."

 

FP: People who watch the show want to know — is the real Derek Gillespie cocky or shy?

Gillespie: "I think I’m more shy than cocky. But a couple drinks in me at night, well… If I hit a good shot, I’m going to say it’s a good one. If I hit a horrible shot, I’m going to say that, too. I tell it the way it is. I think I’m cocky when I’m playing well, which is a good thing. It’s probably why I’m a streaky player. When I’m playing poorly, I know I am, so I just keep my mouth shut. I’m probably more the other way, shy."

 

FP: $100,000 for winning the show is a lot of money. What does it mean to you and your career?

Gillespie: "It keeps it going. It seemed like when I won it, and then I didn’t make it through Q-school, I at least knew I had the hundred grand coming. Then I won a two-day Gateway event for a free membership (to that tour), so it made me think I still had game. I made $25,000 doing that. It’s been so hard with the economy. Nobody wants to give money out for sponsorships. I can only imagine what some guys are going. I don’t know how some guys do it. If you’re not in the top five out here, it’s hard. There’s not as many guys on the Gateway Tour now because it’s so hard to find the money or sponsors. The mini-tour scene seems to be on the decline. So this money is huge, gets me to Q-school another year or two years and we’ll see what happens. It’s tough but I know I’m good enough. I know I can do it."

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca

 

 

Derek Gillespie file

 

Age: 31

Home: Oshawa, Ont.

Turned Pro: 2000

CanTour wins: 2003 Corona Ixtapa Classic, 2002 Myrtle Beach Barefoot Championship.

College: Inducted into University of Arizona Golf Hall of Fame, 2000.

Amateur career: titles include 1993 and 1995 Ontario Junior.