The backstory for Texas A&M’s Cameron Champ even better than his U.S. Open score
Cameron Champ is a Texas A&M senior, and an amateur, who shot a 3-under 69 on Friday at the U.S. Open.
Champ is two shots off the lead at the Open, where entering Saturday’s play four golfers were tied at 7-under 137. No amateur has won the U.S. national golf championship since Johnny Goodman in 1933.
He is one of the longest hitters at the U.S. Open, The Associated Press reports. He keeps to himself while he plays. There is a quiet confidence about him as he makes his way around Erin Hills.
But the background story of his family — both he and his father are children of a bi-racial marriage — is the most amazing part of his golf game.
Mack Champ, Cameron’s grandfather, who is black, was headed home on a bus to Columbus, Texas, which is about 75 miles west of Houston, in 1961 from Air Force basic training before going overseas.
He tried to get a hamburger at a whites-only counter during a stop. He was refused. He got back on the bus.
The stop was in College Station, home of Texas A&M.
Mack Champ, 76, said he didn’t tell that story until his grandson signed with the Aggies.
Mack married Lulu, who is white, when he served in Germany. Their son Jeff, Cameron’s dad, was born in London.
“He was told if he goes back to Texas and walked off the base with a white lady, he’d go to jail,” Jeff told GolfWeek. “That’s how he ended up in California.”
Jeff Champ was quoted by Golfweek that “I always teach him it’s not about you. It’s about your grandfather who got you into this game, who sacrificed things for you.”
Mack had caddied as a youngsters but didn’t play until he was overseas.
Cameron Champ was a touted recruit out of Sacramento, Calif., when he committed to play for the Aggies. But he was hampered by back injuries — two bulging disks and a minor stress fracture — at the start of his career at Texas A&M.
He got healthy by working out and stretching more, and a practice round with Rory McIlroy and Louis Oosthuizen at Erin Hills helped pave the way for his fast start at the U.S. Open, The Associated Press reported.
“Just to see their games and how they play, I’ve grown up watching them,” he said. “And I can hit those shots. Obviously they’ve been in this position many more times than I have. They’ve won major championships. So just kind of gave me a confidence boost, knowing that I can hit those shots.”
“I came in this week with no expectations really at all,” he said, according to The Associated Press. “I just — the only expectation I had was to be low Am. I played well. The course sets up very well for me off the tee. If you hit it off the tee you can score.”
Champ was humming along at even par in the second round when the Texas A&M senior closed with a flourish, recording four birdies and one bogey over his final seven holes.
The successful stretch included birdies on two massive par 5s. On the 603-yard 14th, he got to the green in two. His tee shot on 18 traveled almost 353 yards, and he finished his round with a 12-footer to get to 5 under, just two shots back of leaders Paul Casey, Brian Harman, Tommy Fleetwood and Brooks Koepka.
“Man, that kid is just super long off the tee and he’s always on the fairway,” said Xander Schauffele, who played alongside Champ for the first two rounds and also was at 5 under. “With that combination, this course is (an) incredible setup for him. I feel like I’m not the shortest guy. I think the stats don’t say I’m the shortest guy, and I can’t even sniff where he’s hitting the ball. He’s very impressive.”
Champ has hit 21 of 28 fairways so far and leads the field with a driving average of 339.3 yards, which he brushed off as nothing new.
“In college I normally am the longest,” he said. “Yeah, I guess I’ve just kind of always been that way. I don’t talk about it much. You’ve still got to make a score. Here if you can hit it long and straight, it’s a great advantage. I took advantage of it the last few days.”
After Champ, the next amateur is Scottie Scheffler at 1 under. Scheffler, a product of Highland Park High School, plays for the University of Texas, but don’t expect any trouble as the rivals try for the low amateur honor this weekend.
“Me and Scottie are really good friends, so it will be kind of fun,” said Champ, who celebrated his birthday Thursday. “Yeah, it’s still my expectation. I'll just keep playing, whatever my score is at the end of the day it is. I’m not going to try to put any extra pressure on me.”
This story was originally published June 17, 2017 at 12:36 AM with the headline "The backstory for Texas A&M’s Cameron Champ even better than his U.S. Open score."