George Washington University Athletics
Golf Alumnus Appears on Golf Channel's Big Break Show
9/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 19, 2005
ORLANDO, FL -- Former GW golf standout Thomas Blankvoort (`02) has joined a cast of 11 other golfers representing six countries on The Big Break, a program on The Golf Channel.
A native of the Netherlands, Blankvoort will play not only for national pride, but a chance at realizing his dream of making a career on one of the world's top professional tours. The next Big Break premiered Sept. 13 on The Golf Channel.
Similar to an `American Idol' for golf, The Big Break: USA vs. Europe is a 15-week series, with each weekly episode premiering Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET. The Big Break pits a team of golfers from the United States against a team from Europe in various skills challenges on the golf course. Although playing for country and team, the show's unique twist will turn the tables at the end of each episode as teammates are faced with competing against each other to avoid being eliminated from the show.
The Big Break: USA vs. Europe will introduce a new team format but, ultimately, will name only one golfer as champion. The winner will receive exemptions into select events on the European Tour and an endorsement contract from Bridgestone Golf.
The competition will take place at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland, site of six Open Championships and host of the 2007 Open Championship. Portions of the show also will take place on the hallowed grounds of the Old Course in St. Andrews, where Tiger Woods was recently crowned 2005 Open Champion.
Blankvoort was a three-time golf team MVP for the Colonials. His 73.1 scoring average led the team and he has posted 11 top 20 finishes for GW as a graduate student in 2001-02. His low round that year was a 66 which tied a 45-year-old school record set in 1957 by Jay Randolph, a member of the GW Athletic Hall of Fame and now a golf sportscaster for ESPN. The six-under-par effort established a new school record for most strokes under par in a single round.
Blankvoort was named the 2002 recipient of the J. Dallas Shirley Outstanding Senior Male Athlete Award May 3, the highest honor a GW male student-athlete can receive.
