He’s Champ-ing at the bit
Amateur eyeing history
ERIN, Wis. — Cameron Champ almost never got to the U.S. Open. Yesterday he dominated it.
The 22-year-old amateur out of Texas A&M had to win a playoff against Brandon Wu to earn the final slot in his sectional qualifier in Newport Beach, Calif., just to reach Erin Hills, but upon his arrival here he made a fast impression with booming drives that had four-time major champion Ernie Els shaking his head. Els had even more reason to marvel yesterday after Champ shot a resounding 3-under-par 69 to get to 5-under for the tournament, only 2 shots behind the leaders at 7-under.
It has been nearly a century since an amateur won the U.S. Open, the last being John Goodman 84 years ago at North Shore Country Club outside of Chicago. So there may seem to be little reason to believe Champ can continue to compete with the best professional golfers he’ll be wrestling with this weekend. After all, only five amateurs in history have ever laid claim to the Open title and three of those did so more than 100 years ago.
But history is for historians and the aging, not for 22-year-old kids who live in the moment and believe all things are possible. Number Champ among the latter and with good reason.
He was undeterred yesterday by the Open’s long history that is arguing against him and perhaps that’s because he’s always been a kid who tended to get ahead of himself. Champ entered Texas A&M as a sophomore in class standing two years ago, because he’d already racked up 31 college credits while still in high school in Sacramento, Calif. By then he’d already been playing golf for 18 years, his grandfather having started him off at the precocious age of 2. Two? What was he swinging? A rattle?
Regardless of what he was swinging then, being ahead of himself is nothing new to Champ. Much to his advantage, neither is murdering a golf ball.
“I think we’re in an experimental phase with the game of golf,” Els said earlier this week. “I played a practice round with a kid from Texas A&M and he was hitting the ball 340 yards, OK? I used to be one of the longest out here, hitting 290. Technology helps when you swing the club very fast. All of these youngsters are swinging the club at 120 miles an hour.”
Champ has been doing that most of his young life. More important he’s been putting the ball in the fairway lately and because of that has not only his personal goal within sight, but also the top of the leaderboard here at Erin Hills.
“I came in this week with no expectations really at all,” he said. “The only expectation I had was low amateur. But the course sets up very well for me off the tee. If you hit it off the tee you can score.
“With my distance out here, it’s like the biggest advantage it can be. I just naturally have done it since I was 15 or 16. As I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten a little farther but a lot straighter. When I was younger it went everywhere. That didn’t work out too well, but when you hit it long and straight out here you can really score and stay out of trouble.
“In college I normally am the longest. I’ve just kind of always been that way. I don’t talk about it much.”
He doesn’t have to because everyone else was talking about it even before he walked off the course yesterday having carded the second best round of the day.
Champ played a practice round Monday with Rory McIlroy and Louis Oosthuizen, both winners of major championships. Rather than feeling intimidated, Champ came away renewed after unleashing his driver.
“Louis was kind of funny,” Champ recalled. “I don’t say anything. I’m a pretty humble person. I don’t talk much when I play. But I hit my tee ball and he was about 50 yards behind me and he was laughing to his caddie walking down the fairway.
“Obviously they’ve been in this position many more times than I have. They’ve won major championships. I’ve grown up watching them and just to see their games it just kind of gave me a confidence boost knowing I can hit those shots.”
If he can continue to hit them today, on what PGA players call Moving Day, Cameron Champ may find himself in a tense position tomorrow. How he handles that remains to be seen but one thing is for sure, he’ll be hitting his drives into the next county.
“This is kind of the first time I’ve been in kind of the spotlight,” he said. “I’ve known my game would be capable, with my distance and my wedge game, so it’s nice to see it come along at the right time. It’s great to be in this position for the first time.
“It’s obviously going to be in my head, to be honest. This is all new for me. I’m just trying to do the best I can.”
Cameron Champ’s best may not match John Goodman’s best back in 1933, but it won’t be for lack of trying. Or lack of driving.