The small feat of Jorge Campillo in this Open should not be forgotten. After a devastating first round of 80 strokes that put him in 155th place in the ranking, the Extremaduran reacted and signed the best record of the second round to just make the cut, the first one he passed in a Major, and then maintained a more than notable performance over the weekend.
These are some ‘interested’ accounts, but also revealing: in the last 54 holes of the tournament only thirteen players have managed to sign a partial below par and Campillo has been one of them, as his record in the last three rounds has been -1 (68, 63 and 71). In this stretch of the tournament the best has been the winner, Xander Schauffele, with a partial of -7, tied with Billy Horschel. Jon Rahm has also been one of those thirteen, with a partial of -3.
Even the score could have been better. This Sunday Jorge has handed in a card of 71 strokes, at par, but his feelings had been much better. “I’ve played great golf and although it doesn’t seem like it from the result I really shouldn’t have been so far from making the best result of the day again. The thing is that I’m not getting anything in the greens, but the game has been very solid,” he explained at the end. “The pity was also on Saturday, where I didn’t take advantage of the best playing conditions we’ve had during the week,” he added.
The point is that, regarding the Majors, it is very likely that a new Campillo has come out of Troon, who has finally seen himself competitive, with his ups and downs, for a good part of the tournament and after a blow as brutal as Thursday’s. Likewise, the Extremaduran believes that the Open should be ‘his’ Major. “I think it’s the one that best suits my game, honestly. Also, although I’m not a particularly short player from the tee, in this tournament it’s certainly not decisive to be very long. I think it’s the only Major I could win,” he points out.
