'Big Break' portrayal irks local golfer

Brian Skatell admits he was reaching for the remote when "Big Break Prince Edward Island" came on TV.

At least after the first few episodes aired.

"I hated myself after the third week," said Skatell, a Greensburg native and Virginia Beach, Va., resident who was eliminated from Golf Channel's reality series last Monday. "They made me out to be a total basket case."

It didn't take long for Skatell to be cast as the villain. His off-color comments, which seemed to outweigh his actual play, rubbed opponents and viewers the wrong way.

But Skatell, 36, said things were twisted, misconstrued and taken out of context.

The show started with 12 contestants — six men and six women. Skatell made the final seven but lost an elimination challenge to Aaron Wright of Orlando, Fla.

The series was taped in the fall.

During his final show, Skatell said Wright and another contestant "couldn't hold his underwear."

He also claimed he was "the best putter on the face of the earth."

Sure, he made some wisecracks. But he didn't think the audience got to know "the real Brian."

"I was misrepresented," Skatell said. "I was very liked on the show. I am not a cocky guy. Everything I did was to add color to the show. I was very sarcastic and facetious. They would pick and choose which clips they'd use.

"It's very easy to take anyone and make them look like an idiot on TV. They could take the Pope and make him look like Satan. I don't appreciate the way they made me look, but I can handle it."

"I can tell you for sure that there's nobody here that will ever forget Brian," show co-host Stina Sternberg said.

Another contestant, Derek Gillespie, of Oshawa, Ontario, said Skatell was "the nicest and most professional guy here."

Skatell said a Golf Channel producer told him he was one of the most popular contestants the series has ever had.

Still, the aspiring pro may never shake the reputation he's been saddled with.

"My friends all know me," Skatell said. "They know it was all an act. Some things I do on purpose. I am not stupid. There is always a method to what I'm doing."

Skatell, a fitness instructor with Titleist, is disappointed about how he was portrayed, but he is also using the show as a learning experience.

"It was a blessing to be on the show," Skatell said, "to see where my game is mentally and physically. Like Sidney Crosby said, sometimes learning is a painful thing. You can't learn until you experience it."

Skatell, who had a brief stint on the Gateway Tour, said he is making some swing changes, getting his clubs custom-fitted and lifting weights in an effort to better his game.

He also has put on weight since the show. He said he was 30 pounds underweight when the show was taped in October. Skatell battled colitis and had his colon removed. He said the pain he felt during those trying times was unbearable.

"I can't imagine someone being in any more pain," he said.

But Golf Channel did not "play up" Skatell's illness — which he has fully recovered from.

"I didn't want people to feel sorry for me, either, Skatell said.

The yet-to-be-determined winner of the 11th installment of "Big Break" will get $100,000, an endorsement deal with Adams Golf and $10,000 to spend at Dick's Sporting Goods.

Skatell won't get that, but he isn't done chasing his dream.

He won't disclose where he'll play next, but he said he'll continue to compete on the developmental tour circuit — with or without a reputation.

"If I make the right choices, there's no stopping me," he said. "If I get the opportunity I don't see how I couldn't do it. I am done walking around trying to prove to everyone that I am a great golfer. I just want to go out and have fun because I love the game. I just want to go out and play, and win."

Skatell also is planning to launch his own Web site this summer.