Brian Campbell (-18) has won the John Deere Classic after carding a 67 in the final round and then beating Emiliano Grillo (-18) by making par on the first playoff hole.
He’s done it again. The player with the shortest drive on the PGA Tour (as the statistics clearly show) already won at the end of February in Mexico and has claimed victory again four months later, this time at the TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, the state where he completed his university studies and honed his skills as a player. Between one win and the other, more disappointment than glory, truth be told, with twelve tournaments played and six missed cuts, although with some respectable performances, like that 32nd place in his first Masters, an event and a course where debutants rarely have any chance.
And how has Campbell managed to win two tournaments and debut at Augusta National with some success if his average distance is more than fifty yards shorter than the longest hitters on the circuit? This is his insightful response to such a question: “Yes, I’m definitely a consistent player. From my days as a junior and college golfer, I loved saving par. I love having the moment to figure out each shot. So I’m definitely a consistent player. I also take pride in my putting, my ability to find the hole. And my strategy. Without a doubt, course management is fundamental for me. I’m not going to outdrive everyone, but I can do everything possible to outsmart them all,” he stated in the winner’s press conference.
In some way, this statement should serve as a lifeline to many players who lament every day of their lives how short they are off the tee. Power gives you a lot (“I’m not going to recommend anyone to hit shorter,” Campbell also noted with humour), but there are other paths to success, even on courses like the one in Mexico, ‘suitable’ only for bombers, where the American also won in a playoff against Aldrich Potgieter, who interestingly is currently the longest hitter on the PGA Tour. Much more so on other courses like this TPC Deere Run, shorter and more technical. Guys like Campbell have it tougher, but not impossible. You can be very efficient through strategy and, for example, also through a great short game (Campbell was the second-best in the tournament in the scrambling statistic around the greens, 12/14, with more than 85 percent converted).
Emiliano Grillo isn’t exactly a big hitter either, although he is noticeably longer than Campbell. But the Argentine, who was close to holing from about eleven metres for birdie on the 72nd hole of the tournament, which would have surely given him the victory, made one mistake after another on the first and only playoff hole, from the tee (missing right), leaving the path clear for his efficient rival, who had hit the fairway and also the green, of course, and needed only a simple par to win. Along the way, Max Homa (-16, final round of 69) or the defending champion and leader at the start of the final round, Davis Thompson (-14), who couldn’t beat the course in the decisive round, were left behind. The 20-year-old amateur Jackson Koivun (-15), for his part, was never in the winning predictions, but he has left us with a most interesting eleventh-place finish.
