The winner of Big Break x Good Good was originally supposed to earn a spot in a PGA Tour event.
That exemption, like the show itself, is now officially gone.
Austin Championship tournament director Ian Helm announced the tournament exemptions Wednesday at Barton Creek’s Fazio Canyons Course, which will play host to the tournament. Helm unveiled the recipients as former University of Texas standouts Christiaan Maas and Tommy Morrison, Austin native Cole Sherwood and 17-year-old amateur Miles Russell. Not among them was the winner of the canceled Big Break x Good Good, who originally was promised a place in the field when the tournament was still known as the Good Good Championship.
It puts perhaps the final bow on what was a stunning unraveling
of the relationship between Good Good Golf and some of the biggest companies in golf.
Golf Channel, which was recently spun off from Comcast's NBCUniversal and into the Versant group, had revived Big Break for the first time since 2015 in partnership with Good Good. A dozen contestants competed and the show was scheduled to premiere Aug. 25, with the exemption planned. Then everything changed.
The fallout began after Good Good posted an advertisement Aug. 21 promoting its driver collaboration with Callaway. The video depicted Good Good co-founder Garrett Clark shoving a woman to the ground and quickly drew widespread backlash.
Golf Galaxy, which was the presenting sponsor of Big Break x Good Good, asked to have its branding removed from the program and pulled Good Good merchandise from its retail platforms. Callaway subsequently ended its relationship with Good Good.
The controversy also reached PGA Tour headquarters.
PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp called the advertisement “concerning” and Good Good’s initial response “disappointing” during a news conference at the Tour Championship. Clark later posted a nearly nine-minute video apologizing for the advertisement.
Good Good eventually withdrew its title sponsorship of the new PGA Tour event, which had been announced in October 2025 as the Good Good Championship. The tournament was renamed the Austin Championship. Although Helm said Wednesday talks with future sponsors are deep in the weeds, no announcement on a sponsor for this year's event was made with the event less than a month away.
Golf Channel initially pushed the Big Break x Good Good premiere back one week. Eventually, the network scrapped the season altogether.
“Following recent developments involving Good Good, and including the fact that the intended outcome of the series can no longer be fulfilled, Golf Channel will not be able to complete this season of Big Break as planned,” the network said at the time.
That “intended outcome” was the PGA Tour exemption.
Throughout its history, Big Break offered aspiring professional golfers opportunities to compete on various professional tours. Golf Channel said it still intends to bring Big Break back in 2027.
Austin Championship exemptions include three with Texas ties
Now the Austin Championship has filled four exemption spots with players who bring either strong Texas connections or considerable amateur credentials.
Maas, 23, finished No. 2 in the 2026 PGA Tour University ranking after four seasons at Texas. The South African won three times for the Longhorns and earned four All-America honors before beginning his professional career on the Korn Ferry Tour this season.
Morrison’s path from Austin to the PGA Tour was even faster. The 22-year-old earned his PGA Tour card only 131 days after playing his final collegiate round for Texas at the NCAA Championship. Morrison opened his professional career with five consecutive top-10 finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour, including a runner-up finish at The Blue Championship, a playoff loss at the Utah Championship and a victory at the Evans Scholars Invitational.
He finished 10th on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List to secure PGA Tour membership for 2027.
Sherwood, meanwhile, gets something of a home game.
The 24-year-old grew up playing River Place Country Club in Austin and attended Vandegrift High School before playing collegiately at Vanderbilt. Sherwood earned his PGA Tour card in September after finishing sixth on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, a season that included six top-10 finishes in 23 starts and his first Korn Ferry Tour victory at the Colonial Life Charity Classic.
Then there’s Russell, who might be the most recognizable name of the four.
Still only 17, Russell is a two-time AJGA Player of the Year and two-time Junior Players champion. He made the cut in his U.S. Open debut at Shinnecock Hills this year, becoming the second-youngest player since World War II to accomplish the feat, and has already represented the United States twice in the Junior Ryder Cup.
The Austin Championship will be played Nov. 12-15 on Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa’s Fazio Canyons Course, with 120 players competing for a $6 million purse.
The tournament also announced plans for Folds of Honor Friday. Active-duty U.S. Armed Forces members, National Guard and Reserve members, military retirees and veterans, along with first responders, will be eligible for complimentary admission while availability lasts.
The program will include a color guard, a performance of the national anthem and the distribution of Folds of Honor ribbon pins, while fans will be encouraged to wear red, white and blue. The tournament said its participation in the program will provide academic scholarships to 13 people in the Austin area.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: No Good Good x Big Break winner, but Austin Championship exemptions have plenty of local flavor
