BATON ROUGE – For former LSU Lady Tiger golfers Tessa Teachman and Katy Harris, the chance to compete in the reality TV series “Big Break-Myrtle Beach” is all about different opportunities for the pair who had tremendous success as part of the LSU program.
Teachman is 24 and literally looking for that – pardon the pun – Big Break that will get her on the LPGA Tour. She has status on the Ladies European Tour, but the obvious expense and time of playing overseas has limited her opportunities.
For Harris, it’s all about wanting to play with the very best after being away from the game, marrying and raising a family, all while working and moving up the corporate ladder. For Harris, even after nine years away from the game, she returned to win on three different tours, including the Symetra Tour, and this year being able to play in several LPGA members with conditional status on the tour.
The chance to win some $180,000 in cash and prizes and the potential to play in a professional event is there for Teachman, Harris, four other women and six guys as the men and women will compete against each other for the top prize when the reality series debuts Tuesday night on The Golf Channel at 8 p.m. CT.
Ironically both Teachman and Harris ended their LSU careers with wrist trouble and in Harris’ case that shut her game down for years.
“Looking back on it, the injury was a blessing in disguise,” said Harris in the Golf Channel preview special. “I was burnt out on golf towards the end of college. My passion just wasn’t there, and I knew that I wasn’t going to continue after my injury.”
Following graduation in 2001, Harris underwent two surgeries to repair her right hand and the instability in her joint. She received three pins in her hand and had the joint fused.
“At the time, I knew my competitive career was over,” recalled Harris. “I focused on new goals in my life, both professional and personal.”
After nine years, Harris teed it up in the Texas Open and finished second and the chance to play competitively was back in her blood.
For Teachman her injury was temporary she thought to her right wrist.
She turned pro following graduation in 2012. It was that summer when she had a career altering experience. She qualified for the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run, and it was during a practice round where she met and played with fellow LSU alum and now fellow Big Break competitor, Harris.
“Katy noticed my wrist was taped up and asked me about it during my round,” recalled Teachman on her Golf Channel profile. “So I explained to her my story and my pain that I had been dealing with. She then told me about the extent of her hand injury and how she shut down her career as a result for nine years. Her comeback story was amazing, and it motivated me to really focus on finally determining how to fix my wrist.”
It was that November that she was diagnosed with multiple torn tendons and eventually required surgery. She returned to golf in 2013 pain free and has been searching for the dream of pro golf ever since.
For Harris and Teachman, “The Big Break” could be the break of a lifetime. Golf fans of this competition driven show will find out over the next several week.