With all the attention focused on the impressive crop of college stars who turned pro over the summer (Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Mathew Wolff), it seems like years have gone by since we couldn’t get enough of the longest player to hit the the PGA Tour in the history of the game— Cameron Champ.
Make no mistake, Champ isn’t just long; he’s a complete player who should be taking down titles across the globe for years to come. What’s really remarkable about Champ and his prodigious length is that he doesn’t do it with the mechanical advantage of a 6’4” DJ or the linebacker physique of Brooks Koepka. At 6’0” and 175 pounds, Champ uses athleticism and technique to generate speed like the Tour has never seen.
Champ’s sinuous frame is perfectly designed to produce power through a dynamic change of direction from the top, with the lower body running away from the upper. The old analogies of whip-cracking and towel-snapping hold true. The feeling you’re after is that your lower body is cranking back toward the target while your arms and club are still finishing the backswing.
