Former Ole Miss Golfers Win Big Break Michigan

HARBOR SPRINGS, Mich. -- Haymes Snedeker wanted a chance to play against his younger brother on the PGA TOUR, and Bernadette Luse wanted another opportunity at the LPGA Tour.  Both former Ole Miss golf standouts will now get that chance as they teamed up to capture the Big Break X: Michigan Tuesday at the Boynes Highland Resort.

The pair defeated Hugo Leon (played at Southeastern Louisiana) and Camila Mori (played at South Carolina), both of Chile, 2-up in the golf channel series final.  The final challenge was an 18-hole match play event broken into three six-hole formats.   Snedeker and Luse got off to a 3-up start through nine holes.  Leon and Mori got it back to all-square heading to the 14^th hole.  The Rebel pair took the lead again and increased it to 2-up on the 15^th before closing it out on the 17^th.

As a result of their win, both Snedeker and Luse earned an endorsement contract with Adams Golf, respective entry fees to Q-school paid for by Sky Caddie, $10,000 cash from Dick’s sporting goods as well as $5,000 in prizes.  In addition, they each took home a BMW 3-Series Coupe.  Snedeker received an exemption into the Children’s Miracle Network PGA TOUR event, while Luse earned an exemption into the LPGA’s Bell Micro Classic.

“It was surreal,” Snedeker said.  “I didn’t know what to say.  It was just as much their (Leon/Mori) dream as it was ours.  “It’s the goal we’ve been working for since we got here.  It feels great. Anyone of these teams could have won. I feel lucky and blessed.  Bernie got her dream, and I got mine.”

“I can’t tell you happy I am,” echoed Luse.  “I love the game so much, and I miss it so badly.  I can’t wait to start practicing again.  I am going to work very hard to stay out there.”

Following his playing career with the Rebels, Snedeker earned his law degree from Ole Miss, married his college sweetheart (Amy) and moved to Fairhope, Ala., where he practices law and is a municipal judge.  The chance to play against his brother, Brandt (2007 PGA Rookie of the Year), in a competitive tournament fueled his desire to give Big Break a try.

“It was a no brainer to play with Bernie,” said Snedeker, who was an All-Southeastern Conference golfer at Ole Miss and later an assistant coach when Luse was a player on the women’s team. “It was a natural fit. You go to the University of Mississippi and that is where you get your degree, but you never really graduate. You are always a part of Ole Miss because it’s more of a state of mind than it is a place. So we were able to pick up where we left off when I was coaching and we were practicing everyday on the back of the range. It’s like there was never a gap.”

Luse became the first Ole Miss women’s golfer to play on the LPGA Tour when she qualified in 2005. Her stay on the tour was short-lived as she finished 152nd on the money list and lost her exempt status. She played on the circuit in 2006 as a non-exempt player before her sponsor money ran dry. Now an administrator at a cosmetology school in her home state of Florida, Luse is hoping to make a comeback.

“The interest came back,” Luse said. “I was not real happy where I was in my life and it was perfect timing when I got the call from Haymes to play in Big Break X: Michigan. I was missing golf and this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

And one they took full advantage of. 

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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