His physical gifts have never been in doubt.
Even before the first of his three PGA Tour wins, Cameron Champ was known as a prodigious hitter, a reputation he has only reinforced since that breakthrough victory in 2018. He remains one of the game’s longest bombers.
But playing golf at the highest level requires more than elevated ball speeds. Mechanics matter. So does mindset.
And Champ has been battling the latter.
“The last couple years for me, it’s mostly been off-the-course stuff,” Champ said. “It’s been a little rough for me to even be out here.”
It was late-day Friday, with two rounds in the books at the RBC Canadian Open, and Champ, who’d gained entrance into the field as the eighth alternate, stood before the press in a surprising position—12-under par and with a two-shot lead heading into the weekend at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley.
His score, supported by a scorching 62 on Thursday, did not reflect the form that Champ has shown of late. Recent seasons have been a slog for the 29-year-old, so much so that he lost his card last year and has been toggling between the PGA and Korn Ferry tours, competing when he can through past champion status. Amid multiple missed cuts, including three in his previous five PGA Tour starts, his best finish was a T15 at the CJ Cup Bryson Nelson early last month.
As this week’s tournament in Toronto approached, Champ did not expect to be making a trip north. He found himself instead in South Carolina, preparing for a Korn Ferry event, when word came through that a slot had opened for him. It just so happened that he had his passport with him, though he said he hadn’t put the document on his packing list.
“I don’t know why I brought it,” he said. “I was like, you know, I’m just going to bring it in case for whatever reason, not even thinking about the tournament. So it all worked out nicely.”
True to form, Champ is leading the field in driving distance this week. But the most important gap has been the space between his ears.
“These last two days was just nice —not a sigh of relief but it was just a joy for me to play like that,” Champ said. “I know it’s there. I just have to get out of my own way and keep progressing.”
Though Champ did not elaborate on the nature of his mental struggles, he acknowledged they’d been more than he could handle on his own.
“I just finally just accepted that and finally got some help and slowly working towards that, which has been nice.”
Less helpful has been the uncertainty of his playing schedule, which creates strains of a different kind.
“It’s definitely ups and downs, not knowing this week and getting a call last minute and rushing here,” he said. “It’s been really just a challenge to try to take advantage of the opportunities when I get them.”
Champ now has an opportunity for his first PGA Tour win since the 2021 3M Open. A victory this week would also put him into next week’s U.S. Open field at Oakmont.
