Chad Campbell’s hole-in-one helps Michigan fan with loan payments

Standing at the third tee, scrutinizing a downhill par-three, Chad Campbell ran the calculations in his head.

And the answer came out just right.

“It was actually a perfect number,” Campbell said. “Perfect wedge.”

His 143-yard shot flew directly at the pin, bounced a few times and rolled into the cup for a hole-in-one. It was one of the highlights in an otherwise demanding third round at the Farmers Insurance Open.

The moment the ball disappeared, Campbell raised his well-chosen pitching wedge in the air, then exchanged high-fives with his playing partners. He might not have been the only one celebrating.

Thanks to a sweepstakes run by a mortgage company that sponsors the PGA Tour, a fan identified only as Tom F. from Grand Haven, Mich., will have his loan payments covered for a year.

“Glad to be able to help somebody out,” Campbell said.

Spotlight Sunday

Harris English has won twice on the PGA Tour — both times after holding a second-round lead.

The Farmers Insurance Open marks the first time he enters the final round with the lead or, in this case, a share of the lead.

“I love being in this spot,” said English, who is tied with J.B. Holmes at nine-under.

After pushing to the top of the leaderboard with steady play through the first two rounds, English struggled a bit on Saturday. A double-bogey on No. 4 and a bogey on No. 16 led to a one-over 73.

The pressure will only increase on Sunday, when he plays in the spotlight of the final group. English did not seem overly concerned.

“I love the nervous butterflies on the first tee, and especially when all the people start watching on the back nine,” he said. “That’s awesome.”

Mini golf fans

Babies have been a hot topic around Torrey Pines this week.

Hunter Mahan, who did not make the trip to La Jolla, released a statement on Saturday announcing that his wife, Kandi, had given birth to their second child, Miller Myles Mahan.

“Mom and son are doing great, and we could not be more excited to introduce our daughter, Zoe, to her new baby brother,” he said.

After the second round on Friday, Dustin Johnson was asked about seeing a few babies in the gallery. He and fiancee Paulina Gretzky had a son last month, and Johnson was thinking about bringing his family to tournaments in the future.

“I wish they could be out here,” he said. “But he’s only almost three weeks old, so it’s a little too early.”

david.wharton@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATimesWharton