Amiee to LPGA

Bryce Alderton

The thought of outlasting all nine female golfers through weeks of

elimination rounds and skills challenges didn’t hit Newport Beach

resident Danielle Amiee until she strolled onto the tee at the par-3

17th hole at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va.

With berths into two LPGA tournaments on the line, Amiee, 28,

promptly stuck her tee shot within eight feet and sank the birdie

putt to defeat Pam Crikelair, 2 and 1, in the match-play final and

conclude “Big Break III: Ladies Only,” which aired Tuesday night on

the Golf Channel.

Amiee’s victory secured spots into the Michelob ULTRA at Kingsmill

May 5-8 and the Corning Classic May 26-29 in Corning, N.Y., her first

LPGA tournament appearances.

Amiee, who plays on the Futures tour and practices at Costa Mesa

Golf & Country Club, shuddered some early-round jitters and gained

focus as the round progressed against Crikelair, who also plays on

the Futures tour and is a former field hockey and lacrosse player.

“At the beginning I was unfocused and my anxiety was coming down

to the shots I hit,” said Amiee, who was the final contestant chosen

for the television series, the first of its kind to feature an

all-female cast. “But I dug myself out of the grave.”

Crikelair took the largest lead of the round at 2 up through five

holes before Amiee tied the match at No. 12 and took her first lead

at 1 up on 13.

Crikelair gained one hole back before coming to the 17th.

After early struggles, Amiee said she gained motivation after

Crikelair made her putt from inside of two feet on one front-nine

green instead of conceding the hole.

“She wanted to throw mind manipulation and the mental game at me,”

Amiee said. “We kept our distances pretty much while on the course.

We never conversed.”

The mind games continued on No. 12, when Crikelair conceded a

short putt only after Amiee asked, Golf Channel spokesman Matt

Friedman said.

“Pam originally told Danielle, ‘No,’” Friedman said. “There was

gamesmanship. They were playing for their livelihood.”

Amiee said she treated every shot throughout the series as if the

U.S. Open was at stake.

“This show taught me more about golf than I have learned in my

entire golf career,” said Amiee, who spent one night in the emergency

room at a nearby hospital with a bout of vertigo before competing the

following day against Crikelair, Liz Uthoff and Cindy Miller two

weeks ago.

Amiee prevailed despite not claiming one elimination challenge for

the show’s duration, meaning she had to hit more shots.

“In the beginning, I had the fear of not wanting to be

eliminated,” Amiee said. “I had to learn how to handle cameras and

[microphones]. In the end, I knew how to handle pressure. Every shot

I hit, I envisioned winning a major championship.”