Campbell's hot start ruined by swirling winds in Round 2

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Chad Campbell was five over in his last six holes on Friday. (Getty Images)

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla -- It wasn't so much what he shot, as how he did it.

And the conditions he did it in.

All Chad Campbell could do was chuckle and shake his head.

Five birdies in his first 11 holes, including three in a row mid-round. Three bogeys down the stretch. One double bogey at 17. Total? An even-par 72 that wasn't close to even or steady.

Can you say roller-coaster ride? In blustery, buffeting winds?

"You know, I played pretty well all day,'' said Campbell, who is at 145 going into the weekend here at THE PLAYERS. "It was obviously tough out there. Those last few holes get really exposed to the wind. I hit a lot of bad tee shots coming down the stretch. Even when you look back on it, even par is not really that bad a round.

"But the way I got there wasn't really what I was looking for.''

Especially that double at 17.

Campbell had an 8-iron in his hand and he thought it was too much club. It wasn't enough. He came up short on the 144-yard hole.

He called the combination of wind and the hole itself, brutal.

"You'd think (the wind is) helping, but it's not,'' he said. "It's left to right and it's a quarter back and forth with you and against you. You've just got to time your shot and trust it, which is the hardest part.''

When he asked if the course was unfair in winds like this, he stopped short of agreeing.

"It could be close,'' said Campbell, who grew up in the West Texas winds and finished tied for second at a windy Shell Houston Open earlier this year. "This afternoon there's no telling. You know, right now it's just playing really tough.

"If you hit a good shot on 17, it'll hold the green. You've got to hit a good tee shot, keep it in the fairway on 18. When you're back in the trees you don't feel it quite as much, and the putting is not as difficult. But when you get out there on 17, putting is hard and obviously the shot is hard.''

Campbell is one of those players who's comfortable in the wind. Even when he struggles like he did on the back nine. He didn't drive the ball well, then failed to get up and down on the 14th and 15th.

"I didn't play very well yesterday and spent a little time on the range and got some things figured out,'' he said of his opening 73. "I feel good about it. Hopefully I can start driving it a little bit better, those holes I hit some pretty poor tee shots.''

He was confident it wouldn't take much to straighten out his driver later Friday on the range. But he was still shaking his head over the 17th.

"You would think you would be able to hit the green,'' said Campbell, who tied for sixth here in 2003. "You know, if it was surrounded by sand there would be a lot more people hitting the green. It's tougher, and like I said, I keep saying it, but you've got to commit to the shot you're going to hit, and it's tough to do.''