Campbell grabs lead at Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. – When he won a tournament two years ago, Chad Campbell admitted he felt a little awkward. He was awarded a blue blazer, which he had to wear during the victory ceremony. At the time, he explained, “I’m not a jacket guy.”
Campbell is said by his peers to be a better golfer now, and he has two more days to show that he is a green jacket guy. After two rounds, he is 6-under par and has a three-shot lead in the Masters.
If he is lucky enough to receive the traditional winner’s green jacket Sunday, he won’t feel so uncomfortable. The man who claims to have worn shorts to his wedding now has a few jackets in his closet.
“I played in the Ryder Cup,” he said. “You get some there.”
The question is whether he has enough game under his belt to hold off a savvy, all-star field of chasers, including Vijay Singh, Fred Couples and Rocco Mediate at 3-under; Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els at 2-under and Tiger Woods at 1-under.
Voices in that assembly wouldn’t be surprised to see that Campbell is up to it.
“Oh, he’s a great player,” Singh said. “I don’t think he’s scared to go out there and play, especially with a lead.”
“It seems like he has gone up a level this year,” Els added. “It seems like he’s really comfortable with his swing and his game. He’s almost a golfing machine, so to speak.”
Campbell was the steadiest player Friday, shooting 5-under 67 on a swirling day. That might have been partly because he played in the morning, when it wasn’t so windy, partly because he is from west Texas and used to the wind, and partly because he is good enough. In any case, his six birdies and one bogey stood out.
It wasn’t easy to hold your ground, let alone make up some. Augusta National was much tougher than it had been Thursday because of the unpredictable winds.
The play was just as fitful: Singh went from 7-under to 1-under before finishing at 3-under. Woods made an 8-foot birdie putt on 15, missed a 7-footer for birdie on 16, made a 15-foot downhiller for par on 17 and missed an 8-footer for birdie on the 18th hole.
“I’ve never been a proponent of golf tournaments where you’ve got to shoot 20- to 30-under par just to win,” Woods said after shooting his 71. “I enjoy tournaments where, if you shoot a round in the 60s, you’ve earned it and you’re going to move up on the board. I think that’s what major championships are all about.”
Major championships are often about the likes of Woods, the defending champion who has won four green jackets, overtaking the likes of Campbell, who never has won a major. “Well, I’m in contention, so it is a good spot, I guess,” Woods said.
Yet Campbell is a player who still has the confidence of the peers that once chose him in a poll as the Next Big Thing on our.
Campbell, 31, once got the scholarship to UNLV that Woods had been offered. He nearly won the 2003 PGA Championship, but hasn’t been the major force he was expected to be.
“Honestly, I don’t really think about it,” he said. “Obviously, I’d have liked to have had 10 majors by now. I don’t know if I’ve even played in 10.”
He had a winless, unsatisfying 2005 season and worked hard, especially on his putting. He jumped on 2006 with a win at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in January.
“He’s one of our best, if not the best hitter of the ball we have,” Mediate said.
Campbell was crisp with everything – hitting 15 of 18 greens and 11 of 14 fairways and taking only 28 putts – including a birdie putt on the par-3 12th, in the middle of Amen Corner and far from any bleachers.
“I went over to my caddie and said, ‘Not too often do you roll in a 20-footer and you barely hear any claps,’ ” he said. “It was pretty weird.”
Getting used to the Masters is like breaking in good clothes.
“It’s the best tournament to watch on TV,” he said, vividly recalling Jack Nicklaus’ win 20 years ago. “Just to come here and play in it was pretty special. I feel pretty comfortable.”