Golf's new superstar Champ gets rookie win

There's a new champ on the block. Cameron Champ, a 23-year-old rookie, just won the Sanderson Farms Championship. And he's the longest driver on tour. Fans who turned up to see this golfing prodigy in the flesh were not disappointed. Record crowds witnessed his average drive – 343 yards – which, at times, turned the 7,426-yard Country Club of Jackson into something resembling a pitch and putt course.

Champ shot 65,70 and 64 to take a four-shot lead into the final round. They also helped Mississippi’s only PGA Tour tournament draw the biggest crowds in the event’s history.

His clubhead speed reaches a mind-warping 130mph and, on the range before the final round, his driver cracked in half under the pressure. His replacemet driver did not serve him well. He may have been bombing it 360 yards but fairways were hard to come by and his four shot lead had disappeared by the time he waslked off the 12th green.

So, could the kid get it done with his short game? Turns out he could. He made a 10-foot putt for birdie on 13, a seven-foot putt for birdie on 14, a 5-footer for birdie on 15 and a whopping 38-footer for birdie on 16. By the time he drained a seven footer for birdie at the 18th, he'd played the final six holes needing only six putts. $792,000 deposited into the Texas A & M graduate.

Champ shot a final-round 68 to finish at 21-under 267, the lowest score in the five editions of the Sanderson Farms at the Country Club of Jackson.

And to think he almost didn’t turn pro last Autumn. The plan was to finish his senior season at Texas A&M if he didn’t advance through the second stage of last year’s Web.com Tour Q-School. A third-round 75 left him outside the cut line with one round remaining. He closed with a 68, including a birdie at the last, to advance to the final stage with three shots to spare.

“It’s pretty unreal,” he said. “I can think back to second stage when I kind of almost choked with three holes to go. I made a great putt on 17 to move on to finals.”

Advancing to Q-School’s final stage guaranteed him Web.com Tour status for 2018. He finished sixth on the money list, including a win at the Utah Championship, to earn his TOUR card.

The Sanderson victory comes with an exemption that will last nearly three years, through the end of the 2020-21 season. He also earns spots in THE PLAYERS Championship, the Sentry Tournament of Champions, PGA Championship and the TOUR’s invitational events.

Welcome to the big time, Champ.