Monday, Aug. 18, 2003 | 8:49 a.m.
Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4084.
The big crowd around the bowl-shaped 13th green gasped as Chad Campbell's incoming shot took a short hop over the edge of the flag-stick-protected cup and came to rest 2 feet past the hole. A moment later Campbell capitalized on the energized setting by sinking a birdie putt that moved him within a stroke of leader Shaun Micheel.
It appeared to be a significant play. It was Campbell's first birdie of the day and it positioned him for a homestretch run in Sunday's final round of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y.
But, for the second time in four years, a player with Las Vegas ties involved in a closing duel at the season's final major tournament came up short. Campbell, like Bob May before him, was nipped at the wire, curtailing any plans for a parade by those back here in his former hometown.
Oak Hill and Micheel vs. Campbell wasn't the equal of Louisville's Valhalla Golf Club and the epic May vs. Tiger Woods battle in 2000, yet it didn't lack for drama. The pressure and the difficult course kept scores -- and blood pressures -- fluctuating.
Campbell's undoing wasn't Micheel's numbingly brilliant 7-iron at No. 18, it was his own flubbed bunker shot just one hole after his near eagle at the 13th. Hitting it fat from the sand led to a bogey that allowed Micheel the breathing room of a two-stroke lead.
But the final margin, again a two-stroke differential, almost belies the suspense that existed even as the final twosome played the 18th. A long putt for a birdie at No. 15, combined with Micheel's bogey at No. 17, had Campbell back within a stroke of the lead as they reached the 72nd hole.
But on a country drive of a hole that produced only six birdies all day, it was Micheel who put the circle on his scorecard. His even-par 70 was good enough to win, relegating Campbell to second place and keeping Las Vegas without a major tournament champion in its long and mostly stellar golf history.
Campbell, who played two seasons at UNLV, is apt to get another crack at a major title. In fact, Sports Illustrated placed him on the cover of its June 10 special edition and labeled him "The Next Big Thing" on the PGA Tour even though he's winless on the circuit.
But the PGA Championship was Campbell's seventh top-10 finish of 2003 and it pushed him still higher up the money list with $2.2 million in earnings. The Texan -- whose father, Phillip, once said "Mama (Patsy) like to had a fit when Chad went off to Vegas" -- is having a great season.
But like many other players, several of whom have noted pedigrees, he'll look back at Oak Hill with a dash of remorse. With four bogeys in the final round, he could fill a notebook with all the what-ifs.
What if he hadn't come out of the chute with a bogey at No. 1?
What if he hadn't missed the green and an 8-foot putt at No. 6?
What if he hadn't bogeyed the seventh despite hitting his tee shot in the middle of the fairway?
What if he hadn't looked like an amateur with that bunker shot at the 14th?
It was a day of missed opportunities for the 29-year-old Campbell and a tournament of missed opportunities for the sport's glamour boys. The Player of the Year award is still up for grabs and the most distinguishing characteristic of 2003 is the unlikely nature of its four major champions.
Mike Weir at the Masters, Jim Furyk at the U.S. Open, Ben Curtis at the British Open and Micheel at the PGA have at least one thing in common: Each won his first major championship this year, making the Grand Slam something of a Grand Scam as far as conspirators are concerned.
Tiger sightings were rare at the majors this year as Woods finished 15th, 20th, 4th and 39th in his most targeted events, and supporting stars Ernie Els, Davis Love III, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson were denied the big trophies -- not that Mickelson has ever had his name inscribed on one.
For the first time since 1969, the major champions are all newcomers to such elite standing. Heck, in the case of both Curtis and Micheel, neither had won a PGA Tour event before suddenly imposing themselves on the public's consciousness with a victory in a major.
Campbell could have easily been substituted for Micheel, which is additionally odd in that they are acknowledged look-alikes. Each addressed the question over the weekend and neither denied their physical similarities.
But while Campbell has the S.I. magazine cover in his portfolio -- "There's no telling how many covers I've signed," he said of the publicity -- it's Micheel who will grace a few this week.
He won a tournament that had 96 of the top 100 players in the world in the field and he wrapped it up with panache. That 7-iron on the final hole was a thing of beauty, stopping as it did right by the hole.
He one-upped Campbell at a crucial time, checkmating a playing partner who almost stole the show five holes earlier.
archive
