THE OVERVIEW Cameron Champ is making his professional debut at this week’s OHL Classic at Mayakoba. He doesn’t yet have his PGA TOUR card, but once he secures it, expect the following prediction to come true at some point during his career. He will lead the TOUR in driving distance. OK, we’re not exactly going out on a limb with that one. Champ, the former Texas A&M star, showed earlier this year at the U.S. Open that he can outdrive the best players in golf. Not only did he lead the field at Erin Hills in driving distance, his 324.4-yard average (all drives) was 10 yards longer than the next players on the list, Trey Mullinax and eventual U.S. Open champ Brooks Koepka. On the measured holes (two per round), Champ averaged 337 yards. That was Champ’s first start in a TOUR event. His second came at last month’s 2017-18 season opener, the Safeway Open. Playing in a threesome that included former long-distance driving champion Jamie Sadlowski and former TOUR driving distance leader John Daly (the first TOUR pro to average more than 300 yards in a season), Champ averaged 311.9 yards on all drives in his first two rounds before missing the cut. Sadlowski averaged 317.9 yards while also missing the cut. Patrick Rodgers led the field on all drives for the entire week with a 306-yard average. Although Champ certainly relies on his strength off the tee, he knows that to succeed on TOUR, he’ll need a well-rounded game. At the U.S. Open, he was in contention through two rounds (tied for 4th) and eventually finished T-32 by finding Erin Hills’ generously wide fairways at a 75 percent clip. At the narrow Silverado layout, he hit the fairway just 35.7 percent of the time. Champ arrived early at El Camaleon to give himself more prep time. Despite the tight layout, he said the course “fits my eye and suits me well.� He’s figured out that it will again be important to find the fairway this week. Thus, his gameplan includes keeping his biggest weapon in the bag most of the time. “I’ll probably hit 2-iron on the majority of the holes,� Champ said. “Par 5s, obviously I’ll hit drivers.� Last week at Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, California, Champ played in the second stage of Web.com Tour Q-School and finished inside the top 20 who will advance to the final stage in December. With at least some status secured, Champ opted to turn pro this week in the middle of his senior season at A&M. He’s playing on a sponsor’s exemption, one of the maximum seven that he can utilize. “I learned a lot from the first two pro events I played in,� Champ said. “Just have to get into my own groove and how to prepare right, how many practice rounds, how much practice, when to practice, when to leave the course, when to get there. I think I’ve kind of got it down for myself.� The one thing he definitely has down is his length off the tee. Until further notice, it will be his calling card. “I’m a pretty quiet, humble kid,� Champ said. “I don’t say much, but whenever I tee off, it kind of says it all.� THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER 1. PAT PEREZ: Defending champ. Current FedExCup points leader. Already a winner on TOUR this season. It’s a good time to be Pat Perez. 2. RICKIE FOWLER: His first career start in the OHL Classic is also his season debut. Time to start sending JT and Jordan a few messages. 3. CHESSON HADLEY: Top-five finishes in each of his first three starts this season. The only thing he hasn’t done thus far is finish first. Maybe that happens this week. THE FLYOVER The Mayan-influenced clubhouse offers a unique view for players as they stand on the tee at El Camaleon’s finishing hole, the 458-yard par-4 18th. Two years ago, the hole was the second-toughest on the course, playing to a stroke average of 4.214. Last year, it was a little friendlier, playing to a stroke average of 4.087 that ranked seventh most difficult. That made it the 21st most difficult finishing hole out of the 50 that were played on TOUR last season. Here’s a look at the 18th green and the clubhouse. WEATHER CHECK There should be some interesting weather this week at Mayakoba, with rainy conditions and challenging wind gusts for most of the week. PGA TOUR meteorologist Joe Halvorson reports that “instability increases Friday through the weekend as a cold front approaches and stalls out just north of the Yucatan Peninsula. This feature will bring chances for scattered showers and thunderstorms, in addition to increased northeasterly winds. Temperatures are forecast to reach highs in the middle 80s.� For the latest weather forecast from Playa de Carmen, Mexico, click here for the Travelers Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK I can’t believe what’s transpired in 12 months … I was just hoping, you know, not to get hurt and hopefully get my card back and that kind of stuff – and here I am, I won twice and now I got to 18 in the world. I just can’t believe it. ODDS AND ENDS 1. NOTABLE NAMES. Rickie Fowler and Patrick Reed are each making their first appearances in this event, helping to raise the quality of the field. In fact, eight of the 24 players who competed at last month’s Presidents Cup are at Mayakoba this week – U.S. teammates Fowler, Reed, Charley Hoffman and Kevin Chappell, along with International players Emliano Grillo, Jhonattan Vegas, Anirban Lahiri and Si Woo Kim. 2. STROUD’S STREAK. The OHL Classic is in its 11th year, and Chris Stroud has yet to miss a start. He’s the only player in the field to have competed in all 10 of the previous events. During that span, he has three top-15 finishes – his best a T3 in 2014 – and has missed the cut just twice. 3. HOME-GROWN FAVORITES. There are five players from Mexico in the field this week – Abraham Ancer, Roberto Diaz, Oscar Fraustro, Carlos Ortiz and Jose de Jesus Rodriguez. Ancer, ranked 287th in the world, is the highest-ranked of those five. “I think it’s great for Mexico that since we have this tournament here, it’s helping more Mexican players come out and play and see where their game is,� said Perez, who is of Mexican-American descent. “I think it’s awesome.�
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