Close call

Campbell's success at Oak Hill didn't surprise his hometown fans

Art Stricklin, Special to SI.com

ANDREWS, Texas -- There was no joy in the Lone Star State's version of Mudville Sunday afternoon as native son Chad Campbell came oh-so-close to winning his first major golf championship -- only to fall two strokes short in the final round of the 2003 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y.

From the men's grill of the Andrews Country Club, where the ash trays and the beer mugs were piled three deep, to the home of Campbell's lifelong friend Neil Payne, to the darkened den at his parent's house, where the Campbell family watched the final round unfold in often ecstatic agony, all of Andrews gathered to cheer on their hometown hero.

Campbell starred at Andrews High before winning a golf scholarship to UNLV and earning his way on the PGA Tour.

"Man, I bet there is nobody on the golf course today," said Payne. "This is the biggest thing to happen to Andrews in a long time."

At their small, ranch-style home on Northwest 11th Street, Campbell's parents, Phillip and Patsy, hunkered down with oldest son, Michael, to watch Chad play his final 18 holes.

As Campbell's putter heated up on the back nine, so did his active mother and his outwardly calm dad.

"Come on, sugar babe! You can do it, honey," Patsy cheered. "All we need is just one birdie putt, just one putt.

"I wish we were there right now, I really do," she said after her son marched up the 15th fairway. "We talked about it as soon as he finished playing yesterday."

"But two last-minute tickets to New York would have been really expensive," Phillip Campbell said.

Chad's wife, Amy, did make the trip to Rochester Saturday night from their home in Lewisville, a suburb of Dallas. But his parents and brother settled for the next best thing, watching the tournament on a 48-inch plasma screen television set purchased for them by Chad three weeks ago.

"He does a lot of nice things for us," said Patsy, who was wearing a silver Augusta National charm around her neck. "He paid for all of our expenses when we went down to the Masters this year. We're going down to San Antonio to see him in the Texas Open next month."

When Campbell's long birdie putt found the cup on the 15th hole and Shaun Micheel's par effort was short, Patsy leaped in the air and yelled, "Yes!" Then, just as quickly, she added, "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I know I shouldn't have said that. Don't print it; I'm just reacting as a mom."

At Payne's house, several of Campbell's high school friends and teammates gathered to watch one of their buddies strut his golfing stuff for the rest of the world and swap old mini-tour stories.

"Remember that Coors Light Open, when we went down to Dallas to see him and they didn't even sell beer?" Lance Jones said. "The cracks in the fairway were so big at the course, you could almost lose your ball there. It was on the Hooters Tour and we couldn't even get any wings or Hooters girls -- and now he's doing this."

Jones, along with perhaps half of the Andrews golfers, was sporting a Masters hat purchased this April during Campbell's first appearance at Augusta National. Campbell's brother was wearing a Masters T-shirt, his dad had a golf shirt.

"He owes me a steak dinner when he wins," Payne said. "I was in Vegas on business while he was in college and took him to eat steak and told him to order whatever he wanted. I told him he could buy me one with the winnings of his first PGA Tour title."

But it was not to be for Chad Campbell on Sunday.

Micheel, who is endorsed by the same club company and is a casual friend of Campbell's, hit the defining shot of the tournament on the 72nd hole at Oak Hill, leaving Campbell two shots out of the lead and still looking for his first win.

"Honey, our time will come," a tearful Patsy said while hugging her husband after Chad finished his round.

She made her traditional call to her son's cell phone, ending the emotional message by saying, "You know you're always in our hearts. We love you so much. Call us soon."

Payne was able to find one bright spot in his friend's close loss. "You know when we went on those high school golf tournaments and nobody ever had any money?" he said. "We would always throw a dollar in the pot for the low score, but Chad would always win. At least now he can start paying back my dollars."