Stephanie Sparks, Golf Channel ‘Big Break’ host, dies at 50

Longtime Golf Channel “Big Break” host Stephanie Sparks has died at the age of 50.

No cause of her April 13 death was listed in a story about Sparks’ death on the NBC Sports website.

Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, to Robert and Janie Sparks, Mary Stephanie Sparks was an All-American collegiate golfer at Duke.

She won the 1992 North and South Women’s Amateur at Pinehurst and in the summer of 1993, rattled off victories at the Women’s Western Amateur, Women’s Eastern Amateur and the West Virginia State Amateur.

Sparks represented the U.S. on the 1994 Curtis Cup team and had a brief professional career that was plagued by injuries. She began her pro career on what’s now the Epson Tour and played only one season in the LPGA in 2000 before chronic back pain ultimately ended her career.

Sparks played the role of three-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Alexa Stirling in the 2004 movie “Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius” opposite Jim Caviezel.

In addition to the “Big Break” reality series, Sparks hosted the “Golf with Style” series on Golf Channel as well as “Playing Lessons with the Pros.” She also did some on-camera reporting at tournaments.

During her competitive days, Sparks wrote player diaries for Golfweek, offering an inside look into tour life.