Campbell leads by 10 shots entering final round of Fort Worth junior boys

On the front nine Wednesday, Zachary Campbell birdied No. 7 and birdied No. 8. But at Shady Oaks Country Club, where minor miscues can derail a round, Campbell left his best work for No. 9.

Buried beneath a patch of trees, he needed a path back to the fairway after an errant tee shot. He went with a cut. The ball curled the way he wanted, going left to right around the trees, skipping short of the green and trickling to within 20 feet of the hole. A two-putt gave him par.

It also gave him a 36 through nine holes, a score that extended his lead to 10 strokes after three rounds in the 14-18 age division of the Fort Worth junior championship.

Midday rains washed out the back nine for the tournament’s championship flight. Campbell had just hit his tee shot on No. 17 when the horns blew, calling golfers off the course. After an hour delay — and with more rain on the radar — officials decided to finish the championship flight Thursday as a 63-hole tournament, with only the front nine counting from the third round.

The first flight will also finish at Colonial Country Club but as a 54-hole tournament.

While Campbell had shots to spare Wednesday — he entered with a seven-shot lead — his inventiveness on No. 9 gave him one last bit of cushion over second-place Jackson Markham, who shot 39 to drop to 10 over.

Campbell and Markham will be paired again for the final round Thursday at Colonial Country Club. Arlington’s Nicholas Narcisse (37) is in third place at 11 over.

When the rain started Wednesday, Campbell was lining up an eagle chance on No. 15. The putt ran long. He bogeyed the next hole, a par 3, after flying his tee shot long and three-putting. His next tee shot was struck well but flew right.

At the time, he wanted a few more chances to add to his lead. But in hindsight, he was glad play was stalled when it was.

“You were worried about your club, you were worried about your grip, you were worried about how it was going to affect the ball,” he said. “You were worrying about all these things, and not the simple things.”

Now the Houston Baptist signee turns his focus to Colonial, where he shot 77 in 2013 to finish third in this championship. He’s frequented the course in the last month, including June 10, when he played a round with former TCU all-American Julien Brun. Campbell shot an even-par 70 and won.

“Every time I go out there, there’s a match, so it’s good tournament fun,” he said. “I hit it maybe a week ago with some buddies. I love it.”

He compared the Colonial layout more to River Crest than Shady Oaks, which caused him problems early in his round Wednesday. He reached No. 3 in two shots, but three-putted. He three-putted again for double bogey on No. 4.

“I hit my first three greens and was 1-over through three,” he said. “That’s Shady Oaks for you.”

This story was originally published July 8, 2015 at 7:53 PM with the headline "Campbell leads by 10 shots entering final round of Fort Worth junior boys."