Brian Campbell is now a PGA Tour winner, and he definitely wouldn’t have thought that would even be a possibility at the start of his rookie season.
Campbell got the better of Emiliano Grillo in a sudden death play-off at the John Deere Classic on Sunday.
He shot a final round four-under par 67, and then parred the first play-off hole to seal his second win on the PGA Tour.
Campbell won earlier this season at the Mexico Open, and now he has backed that victory up with another triumph.
Back in February, Campbell was ranked fourth in strokes gained approach in Mexico, and first in the tee to green category.
This week though, it was his putter that really did most of the work for him, although he was ranked eighth in approach to the greens as well.
As everyone involved with the game knows, getting that second win is even harder than the first.
So this one will feel very sweet indeed for Campbell.
What Brian Campbell told his caddie after he made double bogey at the John Deere Classic
Campbell deserves huge credit for bouncing back in the way that he did after making a double bogey on his 15th hole on Sunday.
Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images
He parred 16, birdied 17 and made a par down the difficult 18th hole, before parring the same hole again in the play-off against Grillo.
After winning his second PGA Tour title, the 32-year-old spoke to reporters about how he was feeling.
Campbell said: “Blank. I think I am still in tournament mode and golf mode. What an incredible day. I am just so proud of myself after making that double to hang in there and come back. I just told my caddie let’s just post a number and see what happens, it’s the best we can do right now.
“It’s wild. I did not see this happening at all this year. I knew my game was in a good place. I was just focused on the right things and controlling what I can control and focusing on myself. I am thankful to have an amazing team around me.“
That was a big win for Campbell at TPC Deere Run on Sunday, and he’ll take great encouragement from how he bounced back following the big setback on the 15th hole.
Brian Campbell explains why he didn’t warm up before the play-off
Campbell finished a good 30 minutes before he stood on the 18th tee again in sudden death against Grillo.
Many golf fans and pundits alike were baffled as to why he didn’t take to the driving range to keep warm.
However, the problem was that the 32-year-old was too warm…literally.
He said: “Yeah, it’s gruelling out here. We’re sweating. It’s just hot. I think we really needed to take a break, get some water, rather than go out and beat balls and putt for who knows how many minutes.
It was really just a team effort to get some rest and get mentally ready.“
That actually makes perfect sense, and the fact that Campbell made that decision with the intense pressure that he was under at the John Deere Classic says a lot about his mentality.
