Campbell soups up short game for 2006 hopes
Self-starter eyes second chance at Ryder Cup
Web posted
Sunday, April 02, 2006
The learning curve for Chad Campbell at Augusta National Golf Club was two years.
He missed the cut in his first two starts in the Masters Tournament, in 2003 and 2004, never breaking 76 in the four rounds.
In 2005, Campbell was ready. He shot even-par 288 for the four rounds and finished in a tie for 17th place.
"I was playing a little bit better last year at the time, and I think every time around that course you learn something," Campbell said. "I think after three years, it helps to know where to hit it and what putts are going to do and how fast they're going to be."
He really put it together in the rain-suspended third round, firing 5-under-par 67.
"That was a good round," Campbell said.
Campbell has finished among the top 24 on the PGA Tour money list the past three years. He has three career victories, including one this year in the Bob Hope Classic.
Campbell was 20th on the money list last year despite finishing 85th in putting. He has improved his work on the greens this year; through The Players Championship he ranked 36th.
"I always spend a lot of time on my putting," Campbell said. "It wasn't really anything out of the norm. Just alignment and setup."
In the 2005 Masters, Campbell had 118 putts over the four days, ranking in a tie for 21st place.
"You have to make a little adjustment because short putts are so fast if you get above the hole (at Augusta National)," Campbell said. "You have to kind of shorten your backstroke so you're still accelerating through the ball. You've got to do that to keep it on line."
Campbell burst on the PGA Tour scene in 2003, his second year on tour. In August of that year, he was the runner-up in the PGA Championship.
Less than three months later, he became the first player to record his first victory at the season-ending Tour Championship, which is limited to the top 30 finishers on the money list.
His play in 2003 and 2004 earned him a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2004. Though the United States lost and Campbell was 1-2-0, he said the experience was "awesome. It was about as good as it gets in golf."
He's focused on making the 2006 team. A high finish in the Masters would help his cause; players earn double Ryder Cup points for top 10 finishes in major championships such as the Masters.
"Yeah, absolutely, it's in the back of your mind," Campbell said of the double points.
What the 32-year-old Campbell has done on the PGA Tour - winnings of more than $11.5 million in his four-plus seasons - doesn't surprise Vaughn Taylor, another Masters participant.
Taylor played against Campbell when they were on the Hooters Tour in the late 1990s and 2000.
"He was really good then." Taylor said. "You could just tell he was way better than the Hooters Tour. He was an awesome ball-striker, and he could win on the Hooters Tour without putting good.
"When I played with him on the Hooters Tour, he played way better than anybody else," Taylor said. "You could tell it was just a matter of time."
Taylor doesn't see much different about Campbell's game now, especially his smooth swing.
"His game is pretty much the same," Taylor said. "He's self-taught; he doesn't work with anybody. The beauty of that is that nothing changes; everything looks the same. He's just good."
Indeed, Campbell is a natural.
"I've never had a teacher," he said. "I just grabbed a club and that's the way I swung it. That's the way I did it.
"I played a lot of sports growing up, like baseball and basketball. That's the way I felt I needed to swing it."
Said Luke Donald: "There is such a nice rhythm about Chad's swing. He's such a consistent player, and he knows how to get it done even though it's probably not a textbook golf swing."
Reach David Westin at (706) 724-0851 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.
