AUGUSTA, Ga. — Brian Campbell has a home game next week.
He’s a resident of Hilton Head Island, S.C,, so Harbour Town — the host site of the RBC Heritage — is familiar territory.
This week at Augusta National for Campbell, though?
Not so much.
Campbell, who is ranked 113th in the world, is playing in his first Masters by way of his win at the Mexico Open in February. Not that you’d know it. He played the first 36 holes in one over to make the cut by two. On Saturday, Campbell stumbled with a third-round 76, but then rebounded Sunday with seven birdies — including three straight on 10, 11 and 12 — en route to a sparkling four-under 68.
“For my first Masters showing,” he said, “I’m very proud.”
Campbell didn’t just play well, he also played quickly. That’s because he was the first player out Sunday, at 9:40 a.m. His name was unaccompanied on the tee sheet because technically he didn’t have a playing partner. Well, he did, but the record books will show that he didn’t, because he played not alongside another Masters entrant but instead with Augusta National’s resident marker, 50-year-old Michael McDermott.
McDermott’s services were called upon this weekend when an odd number of players made the cut, leaving the first pairing in the third and fourth rounds in need of a playing partner. In the third round, McDermott, who is an Augusta National member and CEO of Kathmere Capital Management in Wayne, Pa., played with Tom Kim, who called his plus-3-handicap playing partner a “complete baller.”
On Sunday, it was Campbell’s turn to play with the Masters’ mystery man.
Campbell described playing with McDermott as “awesome” but also “bizarre,” because he’s not accustomed to seeing his playing partners pick up their balls before having holed out, which McDermott did on occasion to keep play moving and stay out of Campbell’s way.
“Kind of a trip,” Campbell said.
He added that he and McDermott were “excited to get fresh greens in front of everybody.”
Those glassy surfaces were good to him. Campbell had his best putting round of the week, needing just 1.44 putts per hole. He also holed three birdies putts of 11 feet or longer.
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When asked if playing with McDermott helped Campbell because he could focus solely on his own game, Campbell said, “It really allowed me to kind of zone in and do what I want to do.” He added that McDermott’s cordial and easygoing manner also helped him on that front.
Campbell said he has learned volumes about Augusta National this week — about the shot shapes and types the course requires, about the importance of resting your body and mind between rounds and about the intricacies of the heaving greens.
“I hit a lot of putts that I’ve never seen what they’ve done before,” he said.
He said he loved absorbing the history of the place and retracing the steps of the greats who have paced these fairways.
