It’s not at all easy to take a positive view after the brutal end that Jorge Campillo (-15) has had at the Myrtle Beach Classic. It’s not easy to assess minutes after finishing, still hot, that his fourth place this Sunday, is his best ever result on the PGA Tour. It doesn’t even seem that it can serve as consolation the fact of having gotten, for the first time this year, among the 125 best of the FedEx Cup that keep the card. We completely agree. All of that is not easy at all. But Campillo can and should take that positive view, even if it’s tomorrow, or within 48 hours, whenever, when the waters are less turbulent, but do it.
What can hurt the most is that Jorge has competed very well this Sunday and that he has not had his best weapons by his side. His long game, especially his irons, have not been as fine as the first three days, but he has fought like a wild boar to never lose sight of the great battle of the tournament. He has pressed from a distance Chris Gotterup, undisputed winner, has even managed to place himself three strokes with a third of a round left, he has believed it and has left good options on the way in holes 15 and 16.
Without being his best day of golf, he has resisted and has been the one who has put the best cards on the table to take the second place alone, the great fight today at Myrtle Beach, once the victory seemed clear for Gotterup. He made a great birdie on hole 12, after sinking the putt of the day, from about 15 meters. He really took a step forward and told the rest of the rivals that he wanted that second place (waiting for a mistake from Gotterup) more than anyone else.
However, everything went wrong for Campillo in those last six holes. He missed the birdie on 13, left a short putt on 15 and an even shorter one on 16 after a textbook green shot. He had the second place in his pocket, with the option of being second alone with a birdie on 18. However, his ball from the rough came out a bit out of control and went to the back of the green bunker. From there he could not make approach and putt and from second tied with two, he went to fourth tied with five. From a position among the first 100 that gave him the projected FedEx Cup, he went to 120. All very cruel. Too much.
In any case, Campillo should stay when the emotional tsunami passes with all the good he has done this week and with the demonstration, once again, that he has everything it takes to be many years on the PGA Tour… If that’s what he wants.
Campillo has also been on the verge of the PGA Championship. The winner took a place and Jorge has bet today to win, even if it has not come out. Gotterup takes the first big one: victory, guaranteed PGA Tour card, entry into the designated and access to the PGA Championship. The best Sunday of his life for this young 24-year-old hitter, a student of Oklahoma, who smashes it from the tee and who this week has proven to be the best putter of all. Today has been another festival and he has finished with seven strokes taken on average to the tournament in the putt statistic.
Finally, Gotterup (-22) has won with a six-stroke lead over Davis Thompson (-16) and Alistair Docherty (-16). It is the largest stroke margin of the entire season.
