Lori Atsedes

Lori Atsedes (born March 29, 1964) is an American golfer, currently playing on the Futures Tour. She currently is in second place on the Futures Tour all-time career money list.

Atsedes was born in Rochester, New York and raised in Ithaca, New York. She turned pro in 1987 and has played on several professional tours, including the Futures Tour, the Florida Sunshine tour, the Central Florida Challenge Tour and the LPGA, where she was a member from 1998 to 2001 and in 2003.

In 2008, Atsedes finished 3rd on The Golf Channel's competitive reality show "The Big Break", filmed in Hawaii in December, 2007. Atsedes won a gift certificate to Dick's Sporting Goods after finishing first in the season long points challenge, and also won $5000 for earning the most points in a grid challenge during an early episode.

Controversy

In one episode of The Big Break, there was a ruling issue on a hook/fade wall challenge when Kim Welch and Lori questioned whether another contestent, Christina Lecuyer, had stepped on a divot, therefore improving her lie. Kim caused the divot, playing immediately prior to Christina, but did not stamp down the divot after finishing her shots. The Golf Channel rules officials decided that Christina had in fact breached a rule and took her points away. This cause outrage and personal attacks on Lori on The Golf Channel discussion boards. This ruling is largely viewed as incorrect, as: 1. Christina had not yet placed her ball; 2. The players were playing preferred lies; 3. The ball was not being played "through the hole"; and 4. As a general rule, players had been allowed to rake traps and return the ground to original playing position prior to placing the ball. Kim had conceded these facts, but Lori persisted, upsetting many fans of the show.

Lori was involved in a series long feud with Christina, her roommate on the show, particularly after Christina was caught saying, "Choke!" prior to Tina Miller's pivotal shot during a team challenge. The cattiness was a central theme of the edited programs for the bulk of the series, and also played out during the Confessionals, a video the players tape every night during filming.

Lori wrote a weekly blog on The Golf Channel website during The Big Break, often commenting on her version of the dispute with Christina.

Professional wins (26)

Futures Tour (7)

*1994 (1) The Equitable FUTURES Classic
*1996 (2) Ironwood FUTURES Classic, Brickyard Plantation FUTURES Classic
*1997 (1) The Eaglebrooke Lakeland FUTURES Classic
*1998 (1) Gulf Telephone FUTURES Classic
*2005 (1) Lawrence FUTURES Golf Classic
*2007 (1) Lakeland Duramed FUTURES Classic

Other (19)

*Winner of 17 events on the Florida Sunshine Tour
*Winner of two events on the Central Florida Challenge Tour

External links

* [http://www.duramedfuturestour.com/PlayerBios/AtsedesLori.html Profile on the Futures Tour official site]