Oshawa's Gillespie eyes even bigger break

MILL RIVER, PEI -- It seems Derek Gillespie chose his headgear well during the taping of the Golf Channel's Big Break Prince Edward Island show.

While finishing off fashion model Blair O'Neal on the final episode, which aired Monday, and earning a $100,000 pay cheque, Gillespie was wearing a No. 99 ball cap in honour of Wayne Gretzky.

That, in part, has helped earn the 30-year-old Oshawa native an invite to next week's Wayne Gretzky Classic near Collingwood, a Nationwide Tour event in which Gillespie will be looking to catch an even bigger break.

"If I take advantage of the spot next week, it could," Gillespie said when asked if the Big Break victory could restart his career. "It can't hurt it, that's for sure.

"I'm trying to work hard and stay focused, but it's tough right now with all the distractions," he added, referring to all the attention he's received of late. "It's fun at the same time, but it seems like I'm not really getting any work done on my game. I'm just kind of glad it's over, it's out, done, and I can just get back to focusing on me and the golf."

He was plenty focused during the taping of the show, which took place during a two-week retreat in Prince Edward Island last September. After surviving the first 10 players being eliminated, it came down to a nine-hole stroke play showdown against O'Neal on the back nine of the Mill River course in PEI.

Gillespie fell behind by a stroke when O'Neal birdied the 10th hole, but gained one back on each of the next three holes to take a two-shot lead. He built the advantage to three when O'Neal bogeyed the 15th and held it from there, finishing at two-under-par.

"It's just nice for me to hit some good shots finally," Gillespie said by phone Tuesday while he was preparing for this week's TELUS Edmonton Open on the Canadian Tour. "I had a strained MCL during the show and I couldn't really hit any balls two or three weeks prior, so I was kind of happy just to hit some drives on the planet, to tell you the honest truth."

Gillespie didn't know much about the show when he was approached about it in Edmonton a year ago, but after taping a 10-minute on-camera interview, he was invited to give it a shot.

"I wasn't quite intent on doing it, but there was nothing going on in September anyway, the Canadian Tour's done and there's not much else going on," he said.

It turned out to be a good decision. In addition to earning his biggest payday on a golf course, Gillespie won a $10,000 shopping spree at Dick's Sporting Goods and, if he chooses, an Adams Golf endorsement contract worth $10,000.

Gillespie had been touted as the next great Canadian golfer by Mike Weir shortly after he graduated from the University of Arizona, where he's a member of the golf hall of fame. But despite winning two events and twice finishing third in the order of merit on the Canadian Tour over a nine-year pro career, he has never been able to break onto the Nationwide or PGA tours.

With his wallet now a little thicker, he plans on continuing on toward his dream of playing with the big boys.

"I'll just keep plugging away," said Gillespie, who had considered quitting the game a few years ago. "I'm enjoying it, I'm having fun, I'm happy. What else am I going to do? It's not like there's a lot of jobs available in this economy right now. It gives me more time to figure it out and hopefully get to the PGA Tour."