Cameron Champ is one of the PGA TOUR’s most exciting rising stars in recent memory. With one win already under his belt, he’s definitely one of the top players to watch for the 2019 season.
This is how quickly things can change in golf. Cameron Champ has burst onto the PGA TOUR scene over the past two-plus months, and already he’s being mentioned among the top players to watch in the 2019 season.
While that might seem a little farfetched to some, it might not be as crazy as it sounds right away. Champ, a product of Texas A&M’s golf program, has been building his resume for the better part of two years now. He progressed through sectional qualifying to make the field for the 2017 U.S. Open – an accomplishment in itself. He not only made the cut at Erin Hills, but headed to the weekend inside the top ten.
Things got tougher on the weekend, as they always do at the U.S. Open, but that was Champ’s first real taste of the limelight. It was also a week that let him know he truly had what it took to compete at the game’s highest levels. Champ turned pro following his senior season in College Station, and soon qualified for the Web.com Tour.
Champ did get a chance to take advantage of several PGA TOUR starts in the 2017-18 season, and found what most rookies do: this game is hard, especially on the top tour in the world. In six starts, Champ made just one cut, at the Valero Texas Open. There, a Saturday 74 sent him home with an MDF finish.
Of course, that wasn’t the entire story of Champ’s first year as a pro. On the Web.com Tour, Champ still took his share of knocks, missing five cuts in 21 starts. But he also developed incredibly quickly, using his monstrous power to separate himself from the pack. In a stretch of seven tournaments from mid-May through July, Champ scored seven straight top-25 finishes, including five top-tens.
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The stamp on his season came at the Utah Championship. Champ opened the week with a 10-under round of 61, and he carried that momentum through the week. His final mark of 24-under was good for a one-stroke win, the first of his professional career, and a paycheck for $126,000. Suddenly, he was in position to earn his full-time PGA TOUR membership after just one year in development.
This brings us to today. Champ didn’t waste any time making the most of his freshly-minted player credentials, playing each of the new season’s first five events. At the Sanderson Farms Championship – Champ’s eighth PGA TOUR start – he went 64-68 on the weekend, winning by four strokes. He’s since followed that up with a T10 at Mayakoba (ahead of Rickie Fowler and Tony Finau), and a solo sixth at The RSM Classic.
So, yeah, I think he’s ready. Oh, and so do the folks at Nike, who have latched onto him early, keeping him in camp with the likes of Brooks Koepka, Jason Day, and a fellow by the name of Tiger Woods. When in doubt, do what gamblers do – follow the money.
I hate to overemphasize the power game, but we’ve seen the successes of players like Dustin Johnson and Koepka over the past few years, and it all starts off the tee. However, he’s also demonstrated some outstanding putting, particularly in his win at Sanderson. If he puts the necessary time into his short game this year, the sky is absolutely the limit for Cameron Champ.