Brian

Campbell

The Irvine, California, resident arrives with a 2-for-7 career record on the PGA TOUR. The rookie opened the fall schedule with one cut made in four tries. On the bright side, that paycheck came in his home state of California (T50, Safeway Open). Campbell returns to California this week to take on a trio of courses in La Quinta, California. Last year on the Web.com Tour, Campbell found himself on the cut-bubble quite often, leading to seven missed cuts in 17 starts. When he did make it to the weekend he excelled, finding five top 10s which helped him secure his PGA TOUR card by year’s end. The University of Illinois product has a lot of pedigree and should be considered a lively sleeper this week.

The 23-year-old had some run between May and June but missed six of his last 10 cuts and had just one further top 25. Four starts into his rookie campaign on the main stage and the slump continues, missing three straight cuts, including at the Shriners where he open-qualified to get in, and cashing only a T50 at the Safeway in Napa. Not surprisingly then, his stats thus far reflect the results. The Californian, who was a second-team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year in 2014 while at Illinois, currently ranks 91st in SG: Off-the-Tee, 179th in SG: Approach-the-Green, 177th in SG: Around-the-Green, and 148th in SG: Putting. He’s 249th in birdie average (3.10) and 214th in scoring average (73.376), and has just one red number in his last seven rounds.

The California native (and resident) will be making his 10th career start on the PGA TOUR. He is 4-for-9 thus far on the big stage, with all four cuts made coming on the West Coast. Campbell is 3-for-3 in California and also finished T27 at the 2015 U.S. Open (as an amateur) which was held at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington. The 23-year-old collected five top 10s on the Web.com Tour last year but is still searching for his first top 20 in the major leagues. Given his early results in the Golden State, gamers should give him a look this week in deeper fantasy formats.

The PGA TOUR rookie has started slower than he wanted, with just a 5-for-9 record to sit at 187th in the FedExCup standings. With no history at TPC Louisiana, he will lean on his partner, Miguel Angel Carballo, who is 1-for-3 here with a T39 in 2012 being the highlight. Campbell and Carballo combined for seven top 10s in 28 starts last year on the Web.com Tour, proving the upside is there. While the potential is there, it remains hidden on the PGA TOUR, making them a long shot to contend this week in Avondale, Louisiana.

The PGA TOUR rookie saved par from seven feet at his opening hole (par-3 10th) but got into some serious trouble at the 11th, leading to an early double bogey. Campbell bounced back admirably with two straight birdies, including a 26'3" bomb at the 13th. He would later add a second birdie splash from outside 20 feet, but it wasn’t all putting today. The most obvious example came at the par-4 first hole where he stuck his 136-yard approach to 10 inches for a tap-in birdie. That was birdie number two in the middle of a four-hole birdie train. A closing bogey dropped him one off the lead, in what would have been his first co-lead after any round on the PGA TOUR.

The University of Illinois product striped nine fairways and landed 16 greens in regulation, letting his flat stick go to work from there. Campbell splashed home three putts from outside 19 feet today, most notable was a 31'3" birdie bomb at the par-4 14th hole. The 24-year-old walked off the course gaining 3.068 strokes putting on the round. Making his 23rd career PGA TOUR start, Campbell’s previous best was a 5-under 66 in R3 of this year’s John Deere Classic, so this easily goes in the books as his new low round. Entering the week ranked 176th in the FedExCup race, Campbell needs a huge finish this week to avoid going back to the Web.com Tour Finals.

The University of Illinois alum is making his second appearance after a missed cut in 2015. He posts a personal best in his 52nd career round, previously 67 four times, most recently in yesterday’s second round. The 24-year-old found nine (of 14) fairways and 14 greens in regulation, losing 0.743 strokes off-the-tee but gaining 0.800 approaching-the-green. He squared bogey-5s at 11 and 13, the former a 1-putt version from 21'11", and the latter a missed par-saver from 36 inches, losing 0.600 around-the-green. The Californian kicked off with a 3-birdie train at 6-8, added two more at 10 and 18, preceding the walk-off 3 with eagle-3 at 17 from 11'6". He dropped three birdies from between 12 and 35 feet, posting 1.571 putts per GIR and 2.820 SG: Putting.

The 22-year-old just wrapped his collegiate career at the University of Illinois. He didn’t waste any time in exhibiting pro form today. He missed only one of the 13 fairways and landed 13 greens in regulation en route to seven birdies, including on both par 5s. Campbell also penciled in two bogeys and a double, but how can he complain? He’s only two strokes off the overnight co-lead of Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson.

Campbell was one of six amateurs to make the cut, the most in the U.S. Open since 1966. He finished off his second U.S. Open (MC, 2014) with his second sub-par round of the tournament, book-ending his first-round 67 (67-72-78-68). On his day, the 22-year-old striped 12 (of 14) fairways and hit 11 greens in regulation, totaling 30 putts on his loop. The University of Illinois product covered three bogeys with three birdies and an eagle-2 from three feet at the drivable par-4 12th. Campbell is currently T31 on the live leaderboard and is one stroke ahead of fellow amateurs Denny McCarthy and Ollie Schniederjans who are on the course at 6-over.