Big Break Myrtle Beach Episode 5 Recap: The Value of a Second and the $10,000 Question

The fifth episode of Big Break Myrtle Beach highlighted the importance of every second and left Charlie to ponder a $10,000 question.

As the season nears its halfway point, the familiar colored golf balls returned to the breakfast table as a way of determining teams for the day’s immunity challenge. Contestants choose a ball but were then forced to pass it to the person on their right.

The end result was teams that weren’t of the participants choosing, and it led to good fun. The immunity challenge saw players hitting approximately 20 yards off the front of the green, and the team that hit the most balls on the green without hitting a ball past a previous shot would win immunity and $2,000.

The teams of Jimmy, Christian and Toph and Emily, Charlie and Carolin both hit their first shot to the back of the green, leaving the entire putting surface to hit into. Unfortunately, the second player on each team – Christian and Carolin – hit the ball to far and ended each squad’s hopes after just one shot.

Conversely, Anthony, Katy and Tessa, a team seemingly destined for controversy, recovered from a bad start. Anthony led off with a poor shot when his ball came to rest in the middle of the green, leaving them little room to work with. But the trio rebounded and hit six shots before their run came to an end, winning the challenge and a one-way ticket to the next episode.

The following stage of the immunity challenge moved to the par 3 15th hole on the Dye Course where the players were broken down into two-person teams.

The first player hit the tee shot while the second player sprinted to the green to putt out. The winner was determined by the total time it took get the ball in the hole plus 10 seconds for each stroke.

Sounds odd but it produced the closest challenge to date. All three teams – Charlie-Jimmy, Toph-Christian, and Emily-Carolin made par, so time was the determining factor.

Charlie and Jimmy were announced at 1:20, followed by Emily-Carolin, who finished in 1:21, leaving Carolin to lament the time she spent watching her first putt instead of chasing the ball. Toph and Christian were the last team to go and the they registered a blistering 1:16, good enough to gain immunity and a $2,500 shopping spree at Dick’s Sporting Good.

Emily and Carolin, by virtue of finishing one second back, were in elimination and they had to decide whether they wanted Jimmy or Charlie, who held the super immunity challenge he won in episode 1, to join them. Charlie opted not to use the super immunity, keeping alive his chances of collecting $10,000, and dared the ladies to pick him.

They didn’t.

Jimmy joined Emily and Carolin for a two-stage challenge on the 12th hole of the Dye Course at Barefoot Resort. The players played the hole from two locations, the first started 122 yards from the tee on a side hill lie.

Only Emily hit the green on the first shot, and Jimmy was in a deep bunker, seemingly in the most trouble. Unfortunately, Carolin chunked a routine chip, barely got the ball to the green and three-putted. It took her five strokes. Emily comfortably two-putted for three, while Jimmy made a nervy 5-footer for 3.

Jimmy provided Carolin hope on the 12th tee box when hooked his drive into wispy grass, but he wisely took an unplayable and eventually stiffed his fourth shot. Carolin made her birdie, but Jimmy calmly sank his par putt to eliminate her.

Carolin, who had previously played well, saw her dream come to an end due to one bad day – and one second

Kumbaya
Anthony, whose verbal antics have often put him at the center of attention, said he was going to mind his own business in the short term, and he did. Earning immunity surely helped his cause, but hey, he was a man of his word.

That could’ve turned ugly
When Christian, with the entire green to work, hit the rope and eliminated his team in the opening round of the immunity challenge, Toph was upset. He didn’t lash out like Anthony, but he was frustrated, something he made clear in the off-course interview. Then he was, to his chagrin, paired with Christian in the par 3 challenge. Toph hit a very good shot into the green and Christian had to make a testy pat putt that eventually earned them immunity. If that shot didn’t go, Toph’s head may have exploded. Instead, they earned a shopping spree and celebrated immunity. Such is life on the razor’s edge on Big Break.