Virgen: Knapp, Campbell confident heading into U.S. Open
Did you know that getting accepted into Harvard is easier than qualifying for the U.S. Open? Or, how about winning the Triple Crown in horse racing? That, too, is also less difficult than qualifying for the national championship major.
Being the next Pope can actually be accomplished easier than qualifying for the Open. And those are based on percentages from last year’s event.
Jeremy Samson, the Mesa Verde Country Club General Manager, read the statistics to fascinate, but also to put into perspective what Jake Knapp and Brian Campbell achieved recently. The duo was honored and toasted during a festive send-off in front of 176 people that included friends, family and MVCC members Friday night at the club in Costa Mesa.
Knapp is an honorary member of MVCC, who basically grew up on the course, as his parents were former members and Estancia High, Knapp’s alma mater, played its home matches there.
Campbell’s parents have been longtime members of MVCC, where Campbell also spent many times practicing his game as a young golfer.
It was easy to see that there was a lot of pride in the room.
Actually …
“That would be an understatement,” said Tom Sargent, the MVCC head pro. “We’ve all watched Brian and Jake for years. Jake hasn’t been here as a member until recently, but a lot of people in this room have known him. He played his high school golf here. He’s well known here. Everybody is rooting for him. Hometown kid, man.”
Sargent said he and the members have been, “fired up,” since Knapp and Campbell qualified for the U.S. Open at the sectional qualifier in Newport Beach on Monday.
Knapp, a UCLA junior who grew up in Costa Mesa, tied for second and qualified for his first U.S. Open after 36 holes, 18 at Newport Beach Country Club, where he was seven-under-par 64, and 18 at Big Canyon, where he finished even.
Knapp left Saturday for Chambers Bay, site of the 115th U.S. Open. He opens on Thursday with Tyler Duncan of Columbus, Ind. and Matt Mabry of Little Rock, Ark. in his group.
“It’s awesome,” Knapp said of Friday’s send-off at MVCC. “It shows how close this country club is and how much the members care about Brian and myself. It’s been a great time. It shows the family side of it.”
Campbell, who prepped at Mater Dei and recently graduated from University of Illinois, qualified for his second U.S. Open after finishing fifth at the sectional qualifier in Newport Beach. He missed the cut at last year’s Open by one stroke.
He’s playing with Mark Silvers of Thunderbolt, Ga. and Cheng-Tsung Pan of Chinese Taipei at Chambers Bay.
“This is really, really special,” Campbell said of Friday’s event. “Such good people here. Easy to talk to. Just a great atmosphere. It was really unexpected. I made it last year and I went into it. But having me and Jake make it among other Southern California kids this time was pretty cool. It will be really fun to have him there to experience it all. When they do something like this [at MVCC] it really makes it special. I’m really lucky to be a part of it.”
Knapp and Campbell became friends when they were around 13, as they competed against each other in many junior golf events. They also practiced together at MVCC and sometimes played some “fun” rounds at Costa Mesa Country Club.
They also kept track of each other while in college golf.
There are more reasons why they’ve gotten along well with each other. Both play with a lot of confidence.
Both are amateurs in the U.S. Open, but that hasn’t affected their swagger.
“My goal is to win,” Knapp said. “It’s just like any other tournament. You’re going there to win. If you aim small, you miss small. If you’re going there to win it’s a lot better than you’re going there just to make the cut or ‘I’m going to play well.’ You’re not going to achieve everything you can.”
Campbell is plenty motivated after nearly making the cut last year.
“This time I’m going to go and play like it any other tournament, go and win it, you know,” Campbell said. “The level of motivation is definitely there. I want to do as good as I can. Nothing is going to stop that.”
Another reason, for the Knapp-Campbell friendship is their upbringings have been similar. Both have older brothers who excelled in high school and college sports.
“We’ve just been brought up in good families that all get along,” Campbell said. “We’re good friends. We compete with each other in tournaments, and in college. Knowing someone from junior golf and seeing them in college as well, kind of makes it better. It gives you a little more comfort out there now.”