Jorge Campillo (-9) has taken a significant step towards achieving the result that will allow him to get closer to the goal of keeping the PGA Tour card. The Extremaduran golfer, on a sensational Friday in McKinney, has handed in a fantastic scorecard of 65 strokes which, although it could have been even better in the second round of the THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, will allow him to face the weekend of competition with real chances of fighting for something important in the TPC Craig Ranch tournament in Texas. He has placed thirteenth, five strokes behind the leader Jake Knapp (-14).
After the good 68 with which he started yesterday, the Spaniard, who started with a bogey in his first five holes today, starting from the 10th tee, staged a great reaction with four birdies in five holes between the 15th and the 1st. In the par five of the 5th hole, looking for the green in two, he achieved his first and so far only eagle in the tournament with a spectacular approach shot. And to close a day in which he has climbed forty positions in the table, on the 9th he recovered wonderfully with his third shot to nail it half a meter from the hole and add another birdie to his account.
This 65 is not only Campillo‘s best result this season on the PGA Tour but is also the best in his individual appearances on the American circuit. The five cuts in eight tournaments that he has surpassed in this 2024 on the American tour, whose playing rights he acquired through the points list of the DP World Tour, are so far insufficient to keep the card. So the Extremaduran is looking for a coup to not leave too many pending tasks for the autumn, in the high season of the calendar in Europe.
Without needing to be too precise with the driver or to be, as expected, among the players who go longer from the tee, the Spaniard has been able to find in the irons the perfect weapon to seek the result. He has given a master class in shots to green. In fact, he has been the best in the tournament in this aspect in the second round. He left some putt short at the beginning of his round and managed to put in a couple of long ones afterwards, although he admits that if he had been more successful in the medium putts he would be even higher up, talking face to face with the leadership.
“Between yesterday and today, between six and fifteen feet, I must have thrown eight or ten putts and I have only put in one, the one from the 17th today, I have missed many”, confessed a somewhat upset Campillo to Ten-Golf. However, to compensate for the missed opportunity on the greens, two great shots to remember this Friday: “a very nice wedge on the 18th, from 75 yards”, to leave the birdie done, and above all, the hybrid of the par five of the 5th, from which he came out with an eagle… even brushing the option of the albatross!
“With the hybrid I had to give it a little soft and usually I say something to the ball. Jesus told me: ‘what, don’t you say anything to this one?’. But I couldn’t say anything to it, it was perfect. There were about 270 yards, with wind in favour, it came out straight to the hole, leaning a little to the left because I knew it fell from left to right… You couldn’t see the green and they applauded loudly, when I arrived they were a foot away, they told me it was in but just at the end it didn’t hold the fall, a shame”, explained Jorge. A fantastic Friday, in any case, to keep dreaming, with five strokes of disadvantage compared to the provisional leader. In second place are Matt Wallace and Troy Merritt with -13. Campillo has signed the seventh best round of the day.
The cut ended up closing at a demanding -6 and were left out, among others, Jordan Spieth, Robert MacIntyre, Thomas Detry, Thorbjorn Olesen, Ryan Fox, Sami Valimaki or Camilo Villegas.
