Leave it to Cameron Champ to redefine the term smash factor.
The long-hitting wunderkind had turned heads all week with his eye-popping stats and swing speed en route to building a four-shot lead heading into the final round of the Sanderson Farms Championship. But it was his own physics-defying motion that nearly proved his undoing, as his driver head cracked on the range less than 30 minutes before his final tee time.
Collisions that occur from swings pushing 130 miles per hour can turn equipment fractures into an occupational hazard.
While Champ had a backup driver available, he struggled for much of the round and ultimately was caught by Corey Conners at the turn. But with the tournament hanging in the balance, Champ once again relied on his biggest weapon to leave Conners and the rest of the field in his dust, winning his first PGA Tour title by four shots while asserting that his talent is ready for the game’s biggest stage.
“It just means everything,” Champ said. “It’s all the hard work over the years, all the sacrifices my family has made for me to have this opportunity.”
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Champ first gained notoriety at the national level when he led the field in driving distance at the last year’s U.S. Open at Erin Hills, outpacing even champ Brooks Koepka among other notable bombers. At that point still an amateur, Champ returned to Texas A&M but turned pro a few months later.
That decision raised some eyebrows, as questions lingered about whether Champ’s game was well-rounded enough for the play-for-pay scene. Missed cuts in each of his first three Tour starts as a pro didn’t exactly quiet the doubts.
But Champ worked his way up, first in a trip to Q-School less than a year ago to earn Web.com Tour status. He put that card to quick use, winning once while averaging – averaging! – 343 yards per drive and earning a promotion.
Now, after going wire-to-wire in Mississippi, the 23-year-old can book trips to Kapalua, TPC Sawgrass and Bethpage Black next year and is exempt on the PGA Tour through 2021.
“This last year has just been amazing. I was in school at this time last year,” Champ said. “Made it through Q School, Web Tour and now PGA Tour winner. It’s just unreal.”
The Country Club of Jackson is not exactly a bomber’s paradise. The last four winners of the event – Nick Taylor, Peter Malnati, Cody Gribble and Ryan Armour – combined to average 292 yards off the tee on Tour last season.
But Champ re-wrote the playbook this week, launching his driver all over the place before it gave out Sunday on the range. His replacement also did plenty of work, notably on the 460-yard 16th hole that played as the toughest on the course.
It was there that Champ, leading Conners by a single shot, crushed a 322-yard drive down the left side of the fairway, the longest of the day on that hole. A few minutes later, he curled in a 40-foot birdie putt to effectively put the tournament on ice.
The turn of events was even enough to elicit a fist pump from a player who normally keeps his on-course emotions under lock and key.
By the time he rolled in a birdie on No. 18, his fifth in the last six holes to seal a decisive win over Conners, Champ made it clear that a burgeoning prospect of the future has officially arrived in the present.
“Today, it was a new experience for me,” he said. “The front side was just a little bit nerves and whatnot, and on the back I just brought it together and finished strong. It was awesome.”
With Koepka the current world No. 1 and Dustin Johnson not far behind, the notion of a player who is an athlete first and golfer second has more traction now than it ever has. While Champ doesn’t yet fill out a shirt quite like Koepka, his ability to harness the raw power of his swing includes an efficiency that would make Justin Thomas blush.
That prowess was on full display this week in Jackson, where Champ uncorked 21 different tee shots that traveled more than 320 yards, by far the most in the field. But it was during the pivotal closing stretch where he simultaneously broke the deadlock with Conners and showed that his game encompasses more facets than just a Trackman freak show with driver in hand.
Before Champ even left the final green, his father, Jeff, was there to offer a congratulatory hug to his son. He had in his hand a phone connecting the two men to Cameron’s grandfather, Mack, who had taught him the game.
As a black man in south Texas in the 1950s, Mack Champ fought systemic racial limitations to even gain access to a golf course. But now he was patched in via satellite as his grandson captured the biggest win of a career that many believe is only getting started.
“We did it for you, Grandpa,” Jeff said into the phone while holding back tears. “We did it for you.”
Champ’s start in the game was a family affair. But given the rapid ascent of his trajectory on the professional stage, it likely won’t be long before his notoriety catches up to his stat line. And when that happens, Sunday’s round in Mississippi – backup driver and all – could become the turning point.