Campbell reeling from Ryder Cup but readying for Atlanta
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
ATLANTA -- Amy Campbell had just given birth to her first son, an 8-pound bundle of joy named Dax.
The next afternoon, she was prodding her husband, Chad, to check out the FedExCup standings as the final round of the BMW Championship wound to a conclusion.
Campbell would also have been playing at Bellerive Country Club had it not been for Dax's impending arrival. He opened with a 73, then withdrew prior to the start of Saturday's second round to fly home to Dallas to be with his wife.
Campbell, though, had been ranked 30th when he went to St. Louis for the third event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Only the top 30 made the field for the finale at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.
Hence, Amy's concern.
"We were fortunate enough to have a healthy baby on the Saturday night of St. Louis, and the whole next day she was on me about trying to follow it," Campbell said. "I was driving myself crazy trying.
"As soon as we got in, Judd, my caddie, texted me and said we were in on the number."
Campbell came to East Lake Golf Club riding a high after playing on the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team. A captain's pick, Campbell teamed with Stewart Cink to win one of two Foursomes matches -- sealing the U.S. victory with a stellar 5-iron that set up a 12-foot eagle putt on the 18th after his partner had nailed a massive 362-yard drive.
"You don't ever just go out there and play alternate shot, so it's really different," Campbell said. "You need to be with somebody that you can rely on and that you're friends with actually, because I hit Stewart in some bad places that first day.
"Before we went out, Stewart went ahead and he apologized to me before, and he said, 'I'm going to hit some bad shots. I'm sorry. I don't want to be apologizing out there.'
"I apologized after the round, actually. I told him I'd get him a new pair of pants, all the weeds I was hitting him in."
Campbell batted clean-up on Sunday, facing Padraig Harrington, who has won the last two major championships, in the final Singles match. The Texan admitted he was quite nervous the night before but settled down once he teed off and beat Harrington 2 & 1.
"Captain Azinger told me after the round, he apologized for putting me in that spot, and he goes, "Man, I've been in that spot before, and it sucks," Campbell said with a grin.
Campbell had played on the last two U.S. Ryder Cup Teams so walking away with a win after enduring those lopsided losses was special. The Europeans later came and joined the celebration. Campbell said his head finally hit the pillow about 3 a.m. on Monday.
'Last week was awesome, very exciting, and pretty intense the whole week, as you can imagine," Campbell said. "You know, a lot of good golf was played on both sides, and it was nice to finally come out on top. It was a pretty awesome feeling."
Campbell is one of 10 members of the U.S. Team playing at East Lake this week. Crowd favorites Boo Weekley and J.B. Holmes finished Nos. 33 and 38, respectively, in the FedExCup standings and just missed out.
After that pressure cooker of a week, Campbell admitted he was emotionally spent. Come Thursday, though, when he tees it up again, he expects to be ready.
"It's so intense all week, really, but especially the last three days," Campbell said. "I think we'll be fine. Might be a little tough that first day getting back into things, but once you start to feel it again, it'll fall into place."
Nor is he concerned that Vijay Singh has already wrapped up the FedExCup and its $10 million bonus -- providing he completes 72 holes this week. Campbell is still playing to win THE TOUR Championship for the second time in his career.
Not to mention, there's $15,190,000 in bonus money to be distributed among the 29 others who made the field at East Lake. And the tournament itself carries a $7 million purse.
"(Vijay has) played great. He deserves it. He's won two out of three," Campbell said. "... That's just phenomenal. It's the best field we've had all year. It's pretty impressive, and he deserves it.
"It might take a little bit away from it. Somebody might be trying to take him out if he doesn't finish the tournament. But I think it'll still be exciting. There will be a lot of stories there for a lot of money to be made there in second, third, those places.
"I still think it's going to be exciting. It's still a golf tournament, and I know everybody is here ready to play."
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