Campbell is on track and halfway to history
Web posted
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Chad Campbell comes off as the anti-establishment golfer. Or at least a mold breaker.
He owns only a few sport coats. He laughs because his dinner jacket collection increased to two or three because he played in the Ryder Cup.
He wasn't big on golfing lessons growing up and still isn't. He will confess to only a few short-game tips from his college coach at UNLV.
Yet he strikes a golf ball with such skill that he has the 36-hole lead at the Masters Tournament.
"I felt I was driving the ball well, which takes a lot of pressure off everything," Campbell said. "When you get the ball in the fairway, then the hole has only started, but it makes it a lot easier when you are hitting out of the fairway and you can control the spin a lot better on your irons."
Campbell, 31, said the hardest part of his round Friday was figuring out the wind. It would gust left-to-right at some moments, then right-to-left in others.
Those swirls blew Vijay Singh down the leaderboard. They could not do the same to the 205-pound Texan.
Campbell battled the back nine in those mysterious gusts and still came in with 33.
He shot 38 across that same stretch of Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday. His closing nine holes Friday were topped only by David Duval's 32.
"He hit the ball so well it just stopped at the right time," playing partner Stuart Appleby said. "He just cruised to play clean golf.
"Two more rounds like that and we are likely all calling him the Masters champion no matter what anyone else does."
Campbell leads Fred Couples, Rocco Mediate and Singh by three shots after two rounds. His only bogey Friday came at the 17th hole. He got that stroke right back with a birdie on 18.
"It just never looked like he was in any duress today," Appleby said. "He just never seemed in any pressure where he had to have something.
"He just hit the ball at the right spots. Chad (Campbell) made his own breaks because he had his ball in the right spot. He didn't get lucky breaks. He didn't need them because he was hitting the ball so well."
Campbell's second-round 67 tied Mark Hensby for the low round of the day. He came alive after his second taste of Amen Corner with birdies on Nos. 12, 13 and 14.
He had carded bogeys along that same stretch Thursday.
Part of that turnaround was in figuring out Augusta National. He has now played 10 tournament rounds at the Masters.
"I've learned where to hit it and where not to hit it to some extent," Campbell said. "I just try to keep it out of those spots."
His initial connection to the game came from television. His dad loved Jack Nicklaus, which in large part meant he liked the Golden Bear, too.
He liked watching the Masters because it was the best tournament to watch on television.
And now, all those cameras will focus on him this weekend.
"I don't think there's anything to celebrate yet," Campbell said. "I haven't really accomplished much yet. There's 36 holes left, and we're only halfway through."
Reach Jeff Sentell at (706) 823-3425 or jeff.sentell@augustachronicle.com.
