Can you ask for more? Pettersen goes out a winner

Cameron Champ was born in a state best known for the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and the Silicon Valley’s innovative technology but as it turns out, he’s a country boy at heart. “It’s funny because I’m from California but I live in Texas and my friends always make fun of me because I drive a big truck and wear boots and Wranglers,â€� Champ explains with a shy smile. That truck is a lifted 2016 Chevy with a Duramax engine that Champ recently had rebuilt. Someday, he wants to be able to do all the work himself – he calls it his “escapeâ€� — but right now the PGA TOUR rookie is too busy winning golf tournaments to spend his days picking up a wrench and looking under the hood. Champ turned plenty of heads last week with a bevy of powerful drives that lifted him to victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship in only his second start on TOUR. But don’t look for him to splurge on a Ferrari or a Porsche any time soon. “I’m different,â€� Champ says. “I’d rather build something versus like guys going out and getting (a fancy car). “Obviously that’d be nice luxury to have but I’m more of like build an old classic like a ’69 Camaro or a ’78 Charger … or even an early 2000s decent car but then build up faster than those. I’m just that kind of guy.â€� Champ’s cousin Brian Wolf and a family friend he calls Uncle Tim who used to drag race fostered his interest in tinkering with cars. Several of his friends in the Lone Star State – Champ attended Texas A&M and has settled in San Antonio – like working on diesels, too. One thing he has noticed in working around cars is that there is always something better, bigger and faster on the horizon. “It’s almost like a cult in a sense,â€� Champ says with a grin. “Just because it’s like, they always want to do something. There’s always something wrong. Always something that you want to fix. “So, yeah, it’s been fun. It’s kind of like I said, my escape when I’m home. That’s kind of all I look forward to.â€� On the rare occasion these days when Champ is home in Texas he likes to study how engines go together. His cousin, who can take an engine apart and put it back together in a matter of days, is a valuable resource. “I’m still in that learning aspect of doing all that myself,â€� he explains. “When I’m home alone, I’ll just look up how to do things just to learn because I haven’t fully built an engine myself yet which is something I want to do one day.â€� Eventually, Champ plans to get a builder car that he can find ways to enhance. He finds the work “peacefulâ€� and says he’s always enjoyed putting things together, even as a child. “I just kind of finished mine and it’s more of a daily driver,â€� Champ says. “But I want something faster. That’s how everyone I know in the racing industry is the same way. So it’s just kind of like a second love besides golf.â€� Champ has seen videos of Uncle Tim drag racing, and he’s also been to Sonoma Raceway several times. He likes Formula One racing and will watch NASCAR events, although he’s not as much of a fan of that sport. Television shows like the Discovery Channel’s docu-reality series “Street Outlaws,â€� which offers an inside look at drag racing both on the road and behind the scenes in cities across the country, are also among Champ’s favorites. “So it’s just kind of all just added up,â€� Champ says simply. Down the road, the 23-year-old sees himself potentially collecting cars. The low-key rookie would just like to add to his bank account before making any big purchases, though. “It’s a very expensive hobby,â€� Champ explains. “So I say just starting slow with my own and just kind of go from there.â€� The way things are going right now, though, he might be able to add to his collection sooner rather than later.    

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Reigning FedExCup champion Justin Thomas is still without his regular caddie at this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. Thomas will go with his coach Matt Killen on the bag while Jimmy Johnson continues to rest at home. The veteran caddie had a right foot injury and was forced out of action midway through the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua earlier this month. Thomas went the rest of the way with his dad, Mike, on the bag. Jim (Bones) Mackay, who caddied for Phil Mickelson before the two went separate ways last summer, took Thomas’ bag at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Thomas is coming back from a two-week break at the Waste Management.  “He’s doing better,� he said of Johnson, who began suffering the effects of plantar fasciitis at the CIMB Classic in October. “I talked to him yesterday. He said he probably could have gone this week, but he didn’t have an option. I told him he wasn’t allowed to caddie this week, just because I want him back to 100 percent starting whenever he starts. “I told him whether it’s L.A., or if it’s Match Play, or Masters, whatever it is, I just, I don’t want him coming back too soon and then having to take another month off. I think he has his boot off, he had a cortisone shot, so he said that was really fun, and he’s just going through therapy every day. He’s just kind of doing exercises and stretches for it. It sounds like he’s going to be good to go for [the Genesis Open in] L.A., so [it will] be good to have the man back.� Thomas and Killen have known each other since they were boys, and Killen caddied for Thomas when he tied for fifth at the 2015 John Deere Classic. Given all that, and given the fact that Jason Day won the Farmers Insurance Open with boyhood friend Rika Batibasaga on the bag on Monday, could having a new caddie on the bag wind up being a refreshing change? “I’ll let you know at the end of the week,� Thomas said, setting off laughter in the interview room. Although Mackay is a seasoned pro, Thomas added, it took some time for them to get used to working together. That’s to be expected, he said, when changing dance partners on the PGA TOUR. As for Killen, Thomas added, he’s not especially worried. “He’s know me since I was about 8 years old,� Thomas said, “and kind of watched me growing up and playing a lot of golf, so he knows my game pretty well.�   

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STRAKA EARNS FIRST TOUR TITLE AT THE HONDA CLASSIC Austria native Sepp Straka has demonstrated a propensity for resilience in his professional golf career. In summer 2018, shortly after signing up for Q-School, he won the Korn Ferry Tour’s AdventHealth Championship to rescue his status and proceeded to earn his first PGA TOUR card that fall. The next season, he recorded two top-12s in his final four starts to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs as a rookie and maintain full TOUR status. Straka followed a similar script Sunday at The Honda Classic. Beginning the day five back of Daniel Berger at always-demanding PGA National (Champion), Straka methodically plotted his way into contention with 1-under play through the first 13 holes, and he rose atop the board with three birdies in the final five holes. As rain began to descend in south Florida, Straka signed for 10-under total and waited out the final pairing, ultimately finishing one clear of Shane Lowry for his first TOUR title. Straka’s University of Georgia teammate Keith Mitchell earned his first TOUR victory at The Honda Classic in 2019, and Mitchell was on hand – despite the rain – to congratulate Straka late Sunday afternoon. Straka earns 500 FedExCup points for his efforts, moves to No. 14 on the season-long FedExCup standings and becomes the latest Georgia Bulldog to conquer the Bear Trap. TOUR HEADS TO BAY HILL AND PUERTO RICO Bryson DeChambeau last week announced his plans to enter the field at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. It was big news from the defending champion, who has battled injuries for much of the season. “It’s important to Bryson to try and defend at an event that has Arnold Palmer’s name on it, so he’s doing everything in his power to play,” DeChambeau’s agent Brett Falkoff said. DeChambeau is one of the many stars slated to compete at one of the TOUR’s most prestigious events. Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and current FedExCup leader Hideki Matsuyama are among the game’s best who will tee it up at Bay Hill. Due to the event’s elevated status, the winner will receive a three-year TOUR exemption (instead of the usual two years) and 550 FedExCup points (instead of the usual 500). The Puerto Rico Open will also take place this week from Grand Reserve Country Club. There will be plenty of international up-and-comers, PGA TOUR winners – including former world No. 1 Luke Donald – and many of the top 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour graduates heading to Puerto Rico for the 14th playing of the event. VIDEO OF THE WEEK MIC CHECK “I didn’t tell anybody in my family that I was going to play that Monday qualifier because I wanted to give them a surprise, and I could give them that, so it was like magical. – Martin Contini, who finished T-16 at The Honda Classic BY THE NUMBERS 2006 – With his victory at the Cologuard Classic, Miguel Angel Jimenez became the first player since Loren Roberts in 2006 to win two of the first three events in a season on PGA TOUR Champions. 5 – The number of shots Daniel Berger led by entering the final round at PGA National. It was the largest 54-hole lead on TOUR since Jon Rahm led by six shots after Round 3 of the 2021 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. Rahm was forced to withdraw before Round 4 during that event due to a positive COVID-19 test. Berger lost Sunday after a 4-over 74 and finished solo fourth. COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.

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