How would PGA Tour’s shortest statistical driver play Masters? We found out

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Standing at yard zero of one of the most arduous tee shots in golf, with trees left and right turning Augusta National’s 18th fairway into a claustrophobe’s 18th level of hell, Brian Campbell took a few swigs out of his plastic water bottle Thursday afternoon. He watched playing partner one, Thriston Lawrence, tee off. He watched playing partner two, 1994 and 1999 Masters winner Jose Maria Olazabel, tee off. His turn now. Tee into turf. A few peeks ahead. 

Ball down the chute. 

No biggie.    

Literally here. He drove it 285 yards, which is farther than most of the golfing populace, but a couple first downs behind some of his professional brethren. No biggie, though, here, either. From 175 yards out during Thursday’s first round of the Masters, Campbell coolly dropped stroke two to 6 feet and calmly dropped the birdie putt, on his way to a rather tidy even-par 72. 

And the patrons here and the patrons elsewhere had their answer to a rather fascinating question:

How would the PGA Tour’s shortest statistical driver — in his Masters debut, at 32 years young — play Augusta National?

Pretty damn well, thank you very much.  

“Yeah, I think it’s hitting me right now,” Campbell said of the birdie on 18. “I think more in the moment, I’m just locked in, and I told Cooper [his caddie, Cooper Wilson], let’s just get one more. Fairway first, green second, and then we had a 4- or 5-footer for birdie and capitalized, so that was nice.”

Indeed. Back to his numbers for a quick sec, though. 

On 1, Campbell hit 266 off the tee. On 2, 300. On 3, 303. (No. 4 is a par-3.) On 5, 274. (No. 6 is a par-3.) On 7, 276. On 8, 271. On 9, 335. On 10, 309. On 11, 291. (No. 12 is a par-3.) On 13, 292. On 14, 293. On 15, 285. (No. 4 is a par-3.) On 17, 285. On No. 18, as noted above, 285. Added together and divided by 14, that’s a 290 average. Of course, ANGC isn’t a driving range, and Campbell has made himself a nice career away from the tee box. Thursday, he made four birdies. He missed one fairway. 

He stuck to Campbell Ball — find the fairway and go to work from there — though courtesy of Augusta’s peaks and valleys, his driving average actually ticked up. He averages 276 yards on the Tour. 

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“I think [Augusta] feeds into my game more so than other places, so I was OK with it,” said Campbell, when asked directly how he’d play the course. “I think I picked up a few yards here and there off the tee, which will make some holes a little easier.

“But again, there are some holes that I just won’t be able to reach, and that’s my game plan. Using my wedges, using my chipping, using my short game. Then just keeping the ball in play and in front of you.”

That was the play back in February, at the Mexico Open. For the most part. On the second hole of a playoff, as Campbell’s tee ball veered right and out of bounds, a tree had other thoughts and steered it back to safety. Two shots later, though, he was your winner — notably over Aldrich Potgieter, the Tour’s longest hitter, at 323.8 yards a pop — and he was a Masters invitee, after a 10-year pro career. Before that, he’d fought middling play. He’d fought pain in his left side, which required him to tweak his swing. (He said he’s lost speed over the past few years). But he was Augusta-bound. 

He may stick around awhile, too. Why not? Other shorter hitters have won here.

“We’ve seen it done before,” Campbell said. “Zach Johnson. There’s been other guys, too, that have just been legends with their short game, their wedges, their putting. As they move the tees back as we play here, some holes do get longer, but I think some holes still play their true value.”

A few questions later, a reporter asked if Campbell thought he could win. 

The PGA Tour’s shortest statistical driver answered the question as if it had been teed up for him. 

“I don’t see why not.”