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Cameron Champ on cracking drivers, managing expectations, and where he'll put that rooster trophy
Dylan Buell
Even diehard golf fans can have trouble getting excited about the fall portion of the wraparound PGA Tour season, but what an autumn it’s been so far. Brooks Koepka and Justin Rose have traded the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking, Bryson DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele have added to their trophy cases, plus, the approaching Tiger-Phil PPV match has provided plenty of fodder. And then there’s Cameron Champ.
The 23-year-old has arrived on the scene with a burst of ball speed — routinely more than 190 miles per hour — that’s never been seen before at the game’s highest level. Heck, Champ has single-handedly made the phrase “ball speed” cool. And with a thrilling victory in his second event as a PGA Tour member, he's already proven there’s a lot more to his game than jaw-dropping drives. But yeah, his prodigious pop off the tee has definitely given a nice jolt to what is usually a quiet part of the golf calendar.
For this week’s Golf Digest Podcast, I chatted with the current Golf Digest cover boy (Good timing by us, huh?) about handling his newfound fame, cracking drivers, managing expectations, and more. Plus, Sam Weinman and Hally Leadbetter joined me to discuss Bryson DeChambeau’s latest victory, a new (again) No. 1, an ugly cheating scandal and golf’s best Halloween costumes. Please have a listen: