Q. Is it hard to make adjustments to play Disney, Tampa; to lose ground to on something like this?
CHAD CAMPBELL: It could be. I actually didn't play last week. I could imagine it would be. We played Vegas and a couple of other courses where you make a lot of birdies then come to a difficult course where par means a lot out here. You got to get your mindset right, you know, to the fact that par is a good score and not trying to birdie every hole.
Q. Forgive me for bringing up something up that you've been asked about a zillion times, the SI thing, I guess the best player we haven't heard of, or whatever it was, was that a burden or was that kind of a nice thing to have, did it create awareness for you after that?
CHAD CAMPBELL: I think it did. I think it's a good thing. Whenever your peers kind of look at you in that aspect, I think that is definitely a compliment, so I looked at it as a positive.
Q. Did you take some comfort from that, I don't know, maybe just confirmation that you are doing the right thing?
CHAD CAMPBELL: Yes, maybe a little bit. I really tried to just not let it affect me at all, you know.
Q. Does it gnaw at you a little bit, you are one the of best, you haven't got that first victory yet?
CHAD CAMPBELL: Yes, it does, that's what I am working for. That's what I worked for all year this year is getting my first win. It hasn't come yet. Like I said before, if I keep putting myself in that position sooner or later it's going to happen.
Q. You come in second twice on PGA, that has got to be kind of grinding especially the last couple of holes?
CHAD CAMPBELL: Yes, it was. It's tough. You brought up the PGA. I finished second but I think I played well coming down the stretch. I hit a lot of good shots and didn't give him the tournament. He just hit more good shots than I did and ended up winning.
Q. Was there a time where you literally gave away a tournament rather than he beat me?
CHAD CAMPBELL: I had a 3-shot lead. What year was that? 2001. Yes, I kind of gave that one away. I had a 3-shot lead with five to go, I believe. A 3-shot lead with five to go.
Q. Is that when Cameron won?
CHAD CAMPBELL: Yes.
Q. What happened?
CHAD CAMPBELL: I bogeyed 14. He birdied 14, 2-shot swing there. He birdied the next hole there. I made par. We're tied. And then what happened there, 17 he made birdie. I didn't give it to him. Now that I look back on it. Well, he finished birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie, par par. And these putts he was making were great putts. I mean the shortest one was 15 feet with about two feet of break.
Q. You probably wanted to wrap a club around his neck?
CHAD CAMPBELL: Yes, I did. We are pretty good friends, too. I gave him a hard time about it.
Q. You won a bunch to get here that year on the Nationwide Tour, is it the same thing, do you sense that it is different or harder to win here than that would have been?
CHAD CAMPBELL: It's definitely harder. The competition is the best in the world. You are not going to be able to come out here on Sunday and shoot 1-under and win a golf tournament. Maybe in a Major, 1 might get it done. Unless have you a 6 shot lead or something. You got to go out and shoot a 66, 67 to get it done.
Q. What's the biggest difference between going on the Nationwide as opposed to the PGA TOUR, it's like the major leagues and the minors, how difficult?
CHAD CAMPBELL: The life or the courses?
Q. Not the courses, just getting places and doing things and how many people are out there?
CHAD CAMPBELL: It's much better. I mean it's where everybody out there wants to be out here. So it's just the place that everybody wants to be. It's the ultimate. This is the best TOUR in the world. There is no reason to want to play anywhere else in my opinion.
Q. Who were you in Vegas with?
CHAD CAMPBELL: I graduated with Riley. And Lundy, Mike Reese, Ted Oak, Gilbert Morales.
Q. Adam was there?
CHAD CAMPBELL: Adam came in the year I left, I believe, or two years. I think two years after I left.
Q. Was Riley the biggest flake at Vegas as he is now?
CHAD CAMPBELL: He is exactly the same. I don't know if I could have the best story. They are all too good. I can't even think of any of them offhand. We were roommates our senior year. We had a lot of fun.
Q. Could it be possible, you have had, as you mentioned a lot of good chances, some runner-ups, that your career could parallel Duvals, he went two or three years of great play, Top-10 money list without winning, and then when he got that first one the gates opened?
CHAD CAMPBELL: Yes, he took off. Possibly, you know. It's tough to get your first win at each level. Obviously I have had success winning on the other levels that I have played on. But that first one is always tough. Once you do win, it does give you that confidence when you get back into the situation to be able to win again.
Q. Have you always been good?
CHAD CAMPBELL: What does that mean?
Q. Have you always been a good player?
CHAD CAMPBELL: Yes, it seems like -- pretty much every level I played with. I was All-American in college. The Hooter's Tour TOUR, I had some success out there.
Q. A lot there?
CHAD CAMPBELL: Yes, I was out there a long time though four years. Then Nationwide I played well out there.
Q. What did you come away from with the PGA championship, you played well down the stretch, John played well as well, what was your mindset coming out of that, how has that helped you maybe subsequently?
CHAD CAMPBELL: Obviously right after the tournament I was disappointed, but looking back on it, I mean it's definitely a positive. Like I said before, I didn't give away the tournament. I hit a lot of good shots. I felt real comfortable in that situation. I felt like, you know, I wasn't nervous. I was excited just trying to make birdies, and catch him because at the time he had a little bit of a lead on me; one or two shots. It wasn't able to catch him. He had a great shot on 18 and that was about it.
Q. Is there anything that you learned about yourself or your game through that experience, or it doesn't have to be that profound?
CHAD CAMPBELL: Yes, I know what you mean. Like I said, probably just being able to hit the shots whenever I needed to. I felt like I had a lot of good shots coming down the stretch when I had to hit them.
Q. I want to try my bad question again. I guess what I meant by, have you always been good, someone like Justin who has always been good too, and yet he goes straight from college, no Q-School, boom, he is here and he has been here ever since, Phil the same way, here is a case of you who has always had outstanding play.
CHAD CAMPBELL: I understand what you are saying more now. I guess I wasn't like, as compared to him, Junior Golf, college, you know, anything I did, comparing it to Justin, it wasn't comparable as far as that.
Q. At that level at the same time?
CHAD CAMPBELL: He was definitely way above. I just felt like I was just a little bit immature. I learned a lot from Vegas, our coach in Vegas helped me out a lot. Once I got out playing professionally, I felt like I really matured and learned a lot in a short amount of time.
Q. How many trips to Q-School?
CHAD CAMPBELL: '96 through -- what was my first year on Nationwide? 2000. So I think 5.
Q. Do you think you were good enough to come beat out here in '97 if you would have had just a good week, whatever week Q-School happened to be?
CHAD CAMPBELL: Right. I think I could have. I think I could have played. I don't think I would have been ready to play. I think it was good that I didn't get out here early. Looking back on it you never know what would have happened. I definitely think when I got out here my game was better than it was when I just first turned pro.
TODD BUDNICK: Go through the round. Bogey on 10 to start today.
CHAD CAMPBELL: I hit it driver down the middle, 7-iron about 12 feet passed the hole and 3-putted.
Q. 14?
CHAD CAMPBELL: 14, driver, 2-iron in the left bunker, out to about 15 feet and made it.
Q. Bogey next hole?
CHAD CAMPBELL: 3-iron just short of the green, bad chip to eight feet passed the hole and missed it.
Q. 18?
CHAD CAMPBELL: 18 driver, 9-iron to about six feet.
Q. 4 and 5?
CHAD CAMPBELL: 7-iron to ten feet. 5, driver, 4-iron, sand wedge to 6, 8 feet.
TODD BUDNICK: Anything else? Thanks Chad.
End of FastScripts.
