Former golf pro turned TV star Stephanie Sparks has died aged 50.
Sparks co-hosted Golf Channel’s flagship reality series Big Break for several seasons. She also made regular appearances on Playing Lessons With the Pros, where she and a number of other pros would offer tips while they played a round, and Golf With Style.
She died on April 13. A cause of death has not been released.
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Sparks, born in Wheeling, West Virginia, was a standout amateur who won the prestigious North and South Women’s Amateur at Pinehurst in 1992.
The following year, she won the Women’s Western and the Women’s Eastern amateurs. She was also a member of the 1994 US Curtis Cup team and was an All-America selection at Duke University.
After turning professional, Sparks played on the LPGA’s developmental circuit and made it to the big tour in 2000. Chronic back pain, however, cut short her playing career.
Golf Channel’s Tom Abbott said he was “shocked and saddened” at the news.
“Many of you will remember Steph as the host of Big Break — we worked together on seven seasons,” Abbott wrote.
“Lots of fond memories of those times, Steph was a crucial part of the Big Break success story. My thoughts go out to her family.”
Sparks’s obituary page notes that she was an advocate for hospice care and supported Libby’s Legacy Breast Cancer Foundation and the Barber Fund in Orlando.
“Stephanie graced our world with her presence and leaves behind cherished memories of laughter, kindness, and warmth,” the page says.
“In addition to her parents, she is survived by her sister, Susan (Scott) Nolte and their children, Zach (Alexandria) Nolte, Annie Fox, Paige Nolte, Lauren Fox, Lucas Nolte, and Lauren Nolte; and many aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends that were family up and down the East coast.”
Kraig Kann, another of her Golf Channel colleagues, said he had a “broken heart today” after finding out.
“One of the kindest, sweetest, hardworking people. Always a smile,” Kann said.
“She earned her perfect professional place on Golf Channel’s Big Break and our great respect, support and friendship inside that building. Prayers to her family.”
Former Big Break champion and current pro David Byrne said there is one moment he had with Sparks that will live on in his mind forever.
“I remember she came up to me on the plane home from Big Break, and said, ‘I was rooting for you, congrats’,” Byrne recalled.
“Those two weeks she was always so kind when she saw me. A golf channel legend. RIP.”
As well as becoming a star on the small screen, Sparks made her big screen debut when she played the the role of three-time US women’s amateur champion Alexa Stirling in the 2004 movie Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius.
A few years later, in 2008, Sparks made a final LPGA start, when she was given a sponsor exemption into the Ginn Open. It offered her a formal chance to say goodbye as a playing professional, something her physical health wouldn’t allow in her prime.
A private family service will be held in Elm Grove, West Virginia, at Kepner Funeral Home.
– With NBC