Jorge Campillo (-2) has signed one of the best rounds of the afternoon on the first day of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. He shot 70 and is on the verge of the top 10. He finished with just enough light on the 9th, hitting a superb shot that stopped two rolls short of the hole from the fairway. A sublime 8-iron, to the right, held, excellent.
A while earlier, Englishman Eddie Pepperell, one of the playing partners of the Spaniard alongside South African JC Ritchie (-4), the best of the afternoon session, said to the two: “I’m running to the 9th tee and hitting it even if the other group has just teed off…”. The light was fading rapidly on the Majlis course and from the referees’ attitude, it was clear they were going to sound the horn sooner rather than later. They were the last group of the day off the 10th tee. In the end, it wasn’t necessary. All three had teed off on the 9th when the horn sounded. Perfect play for Campillo: he finishes his round and does so with a given birdie. What more could you ask for?
Jorge is not surprised by his good round. He is playing very well. He is hitting the ball very well. And very far. He is achieving more distance than ever in his career. The other day he was outdriving Viktor Hovland and today there were moments when Pepperell and Ritchie had difficulty even seeing his ‘number plate’ because he was so far ahead.
The reason for this increase in distance? There are no magic formulas or untold secrets. Campillo, with his usual naturalness, assures that he doesn’t know. He hasn’t done any special work, nor has he radically changed his equipment (beyond the new driver this year), nor has he hit the gym to become a new DeChambeau. “No way, I’m doing the same as always but it’s true I’m going longer, I don’t know, maybe it’s the power of the Hoosiers, the excitement,” he says with a laugh.
His comment is a joke, but not what the American football team of Indiana University, Jorge’s alma mater when he studied and played golf in the United States, has done. Last Monday night they won the NCAA title after defeating Miami 27-21, with a stellar performance by Fernando Mendoza. You know that universities across the Atlantic function like a fraternity and the sense of belonging is immense. Campi is no different. He got up to watch it live and has been watching videos all week.
Indiana University has been one of the worst in NCAA history in American football. Their strength has always been basketball. In fact, they became the team with the most losses (715) in the history of this sport in its collegiate format. In more than 120 years of history, they hadn’t made it to a final playoff until last year and now they have ended up champions. Their feat is compared to Leicester’s victory in the Premier League a few years ago. Hence, Campillo ‘explains’ his increased distance by the adrenaline running through his veins these days…
Leaving aside the joke from the man from Cáceres, the reality is that he is playing brilliant golf. Today he had ups and downs with the putter and some avoidable strategic errors that cost him dearly, like on the 5th hole, when he went into the water from the tee with the 3-wood. He never imagined the ball would go so far as to end up in the lake. Also on the 10th, hesitating between the 5 and 6 iron and it was finally the 5. In any case, it wasn’t an easy day for those kinds of decisions with the wind.
Why not a perfect week for Indiana… American football triumph and the first Rolex Series for one of their own…
