Cameron Champ burst onto the professional golf scene last year at the U.S. Open at Erin Hills. Known for his prodigious length, the Texas A&M product entered the weekend tied for eighth place at the Wisconsin bomber’s paradise and turned some heads while doing it.
Now in his first year of professional golf, Champ hasn’t had as easy of a go of it as he’d have liked, but he seems to have found his groove as of late notching top-11 finishes in his last five events. On Thursday at the Utah Championship, Champ continued his good play by scaring golf’s most sacred number, 59, in the first round thanks to a confidence that has returned.
Champ mentioned in his Golf Channel interview that he knew he was doing something special on the 15th hole when all he did was hit a 430-yard tee shot on the 547-yard par-5. Although he was only able to make birdie with a wedge into the green, Champ got closer to a sub-60 round with a birdie on the 16th hole as well.
Two pars to close left him with an opening-round 61, which gives him a two-shot lead heading into Friday’s second round.
Settling down into his routine and gameplan is what Champ credits with his mid-season turnaround, which has allowed him to go into each shot, round and tournament with more confidence.
Swing-U head instructor Gary Gilchrist preaches that comfort and confidence in your game are two major keys to success, and that comes starts by being set in your routine. Doing the same thing time and again breeds familiarity, which removes unwanted and detrimental thoughts from entering your mind when trying to commit to your shot.
By creating, practicing and sticking to a pre-shot routine, you can eliminate those self-doubt and errant thoughts from your game so that you can fully commit and become more confident in your own game.
