Cameron Champ turns Pro, Forgoes Senior Year at TX A&M
Cameron Champ and his long drives are off to the professional ranks
(Texas A&M Athletics Photo)
(November 6, 2017) - Cameron Champ played in just one event this fall for No. 1 Texas A&M and now he has decided to turn professional. On Monday Champ announced that he would forgo the reminder of his senior season and instead try the ranks of the professionals.
The third-team All-American from a year ago will make his professional debut this weekend at the PGA Tour’s OHL Classic at Mayakoba. The now former Aggie will be playing on sponsorship exemption.
Champ missed the bulk of the first half of the Aggie season, which saw Texas A&M win three-times, as he competed for the winning Team USA in the Walker Cup and the Safeway Open were he missed the cut. Most recently Champ played in Web.com Q-School and advanced to the final stage. During the second stage Champ finished tied for 11th after he received an exemption following his performance in June's U.S. Open.
“Before the U.S. Open, I wasn’t even thinking about it,” Champ told Golf Digest. “But when I made the cut at Erin Hills, that changed the whole game plan.”
At the U.S. Open Champ finished level-par and tied for 32nd, missing out on low amateur honors by just one shot. Champ's best round at Erin Hills was his Friday 3-under 69 that concluded with a birdie.
22-years-old, Champ is a big hitter averaging 337.3 yards off the tee at the U.S. Open.
During his time at Texas A&M the Sacramento, CA native recorded 11 top-10 finishes and a win during his junior year at the Fighting Illini Invitational.
“He’s basically at the point where he’s like the U.S. military,” Champ’s teacher Sean Foley told Golfweek at the U.S. Open. “He’s just weaponized.”
Editors Note: Golfweek contributed to this story.