Dwyer Trumped by Vega

But the Punahou alum says the "Big Break VI" loss was a really big break

What started off as a joke between friends nearly turned into the ultimate big break for Kailua's Bridget Dwyer.

The 1999 Punahou graduate was a contestant on the reality show "The Big Break VI: Trump National" this season, but was eliminated by Bri Vega, of North Andover, Mass., in the 18-hole final that finished airing last night.

The actual taping for the show was done over a two-week span nearly three months ago, and Dwyer signed a contract that kept her from disclosing the results to anybody until the show aired. Alongside family and friends, Dwyer watched last night's taping at Mid-Pacific Country Club that showed the final nine holes of her match against Vega, in which she lost 3 and 1.

"It was hard because my dad (Jack) wanted to throw a huge party for me tonight, but he didn't know that I lost yet," Dwyer said. "Either way I took a lot from the experience and it was a lot of fun."

Dwyer, who was a part of the 2004 championship golf team during her senior season at UCLA, was in the middle of her first full year on the ladies Futures Tour when she was approached by the Golf Channel at a tournament in Florida to audition for the show.

It was kind of more of a joke with my friends and we all auditioned for fun," Dwyer said. "I ended up getting a call back."

Nine women and nine men were selected to the show. They went through a variety of challenges that resulted in the elimination of one male and female a week until they came down to the final two.

In the final, Dwyer lost the first two holes, but battled back to even the score after eight. The two went back and forth and were still even after the 13th hole before Vega started pulling away. She eventually birdied the 17th hole to close out the match and win an exemption to the 2007 SBS Open at Turtle Bay and the LPGA Longs Drugs Challenge along with many other prizes.

"All in all, I really don't think that you could pay for this type of experience," Dwyer said. "You couldn't pay for the experience of having 15 cameras in your face as you line up for each shot so it was a really good experience to be able to do this in front of so many people. It was like being a leader going into the final round of the U.S Open."

The final was played at the Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles, and one of the most exciting parts of the experience for Dwyer was getting to meet Donald Trump.

"He was on the set for almost the entire two weeks, so we saw him a lot," Dwyer said. "I know he has a really busy schedule and we actually heard him on his phone canceling meetings because he had to see who was going to win."

The episode ended with a twist as it was announced that Trump invited all the contestants to come back and play for a chance to win some of his money, and while the results have already been shot, Dwyer once again can't say a word about it.

"I'm getting good at keeping secrets," Dwyer said.

Dwyer will return to the Futures Tour in February, and also looks to hopefully earn some exemptions into the big tournaments. The season finale of The Big Break VI will air next Tuesday at 5 p.m. on the Golf Channel.