Indiana University Athletics
Mayer, Campillo at the Palmer Cup
6/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
June 7, 2007
Hoosier men's golfer Jorge Campillo has enjoyed the festivities leading up to the start of the 2007 Palmer Cup Thursday morning. Indiana head coach Mike Mayer has been right there alongside the sophomore standout. Below is a day-by-day account from Coach Mayer and what he has to say about the second Hoosier in his tenure to perform at the prestigious event.
Monday, June 4th
As an unofficial helper for this year's Palmer Cup, I met up with numerous participants at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md. The Palmer Cup is a competition that pits the top eight collegiate golfers from the United States against the top eight collegiate players from Europe. Seven members of the team -- our own Jorge Campillo, Brian Harman (Georgia), Chris Kirk (Georgia), Luke List (Vanderbilt), Rhys Davies (East Tennessee State), Webb Simpson (Wake Forest) and Jonathan Moore (Oklahoma State) -- were at Woodmont on this Monday for the final stage of U.S. Open Qualifying. A very, very talented group of golfers to say the least. Most of the group arrived straight from the NCAA Finals at Williamsburg, Va. There were 65 professional and amateur golfers at this site vying for five spots in the US Open.
Jorge was lucky enough to be paired with PGA professional Brad Faxon. Faxon is a long-time member of the PGA Tour and has played on two Ryder Cup squads and has won numerous times on Tour. While Jorge didn't play very well, it was a treat to watch him play with Faxon and I know he enjoyed the experience immensely. Faxon, by the way, birdied four of his last five holes but missed a spot in the Open by one shot. Davies, who is from Wales, was medalist at the event carding a 72-65, 7-under 137. Another of our group, List, was in a playoff for the final spot but, alas, missed a rather short putt on the second playoff hole that would have earned him a spot in the Open. He bogeyd the third playoff hole and is now an alternate. Rhys was scheduled to fly back to Wales next week but will happily change his plans and travel to Oakmont for the championship after the Palmer Cup. Following the qualifier, we loaded up the Palmer Cup van and headed north to Caves Valley Golf Club, which is located just north of Baltimore.
Tuesday, June 5th
Today was the first practice round for the Palmer Cup squads at Caves Valley. Hard to describe the beauty of this facility -- one of the best golf facilities I have ever visited and I have seen some great ones. What a venue for one of the most prestigious events in collegiate golf. Jorge is obviously on the "other side" for this event, representing Team Europe. Europe is being coached by Chris van der Velde from Holland. Coach Van der Velde has played numerous professional events on the European PGA Tour, the Australian PGA Tour and the U.S. PGA Tour.
Jorge got acquainted with both his European teammates as well as the members of Team USA. He is rooming with his friend, and fellow Spaniard, Pedro Oriol, who just finished up his freshman year at the University of Arizona. The two will most likely be paired together throughout this event. Each player was assigned a personal caddy, who will carry their bags throughout the event and help them with the ins-and-outs of Caves Valley. Caves is a walking golf course and the caddy program is one of the best in the country.
A very special treat for both teams as Arnold Palmer himself was the main speaker at the team meal on Tuesday night. Jorge got his picture taken with Palmer and shared a few minutes of conversation with him. Also in attendance was the former governor of Pennsylvania and head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge. Mr. Ridge is the General Chairman of the 2007 Palmer Cup.
Wednesday, June 6
Today is college-am day, as each member of the Palmer Cup teams is paired with three amateurs for an informal 18-hole event. It is an opportunity for the team members to meet and greet some of the main sponsors of the event and some very important business people from the Baltimore area. Jorge's round included a couple of birdies and two eagles. One of the eagles came on the 360-yard, par-4 10th hole, where Jorge pushed his drive a little to the right but hit it a mile. He had about 30 yards left to the green and pitched it in the hole for a deuce. All these young men hit the ball a LONG WAY -- really quite remarkable.
The opening ceremonies were held in the afternoon in front of the clubhouse overlooking the golf course. Truly a fantastic setting and a classy ceremony. All the dignitaries spoke, including a very nice presentation by Tom Ridge, who is an impressive individual and an avid golfer. Flags of all the countries represented were raised with each country's national anthem played. Jorge got to raise the Spanish flag with the help of teammate, and fellow countryman, Pedro Oriol. It was quite a site to see the teams lined up, dressed in matching jackets, pants and team insignias with the national flags waving proudly behind them. The Golf Coaches Association of America runs a first-class operation and this event is one of its flagships. Congrats GCAA on a job well done.
The Palmer Cup was established in 1997 and the first event was hosted by none other than Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club in Orlando, Fla. Throughout the years the event has been hosted by some outstanding venues such as St. Andrews and Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland, Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey, Ballybunion Golf Club in Ireland and Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. Some might remember that former IU great Jeff Overton represented Team USA at the 2005 Palmer Cup at Whistling Straits. Jeff had an outstanding event, winning 2 1/2 points for the victorious American squad.
It was just announced that Jorge will team up with Pedro Oriol in the second "game" of the cup tomorrow morning against USA's Brian Harman and Billy Horschel (University of Florida). The first round of the competition is four-ball, which is commonly called best ball or better ball here in the states. Four-ball is a format where each player plays his own ball and the best score per hole is counted. The afternoon matches will be singles and the pairings will be released after the morning rounds. Foursomes (alternate shot) will take place Friday morning followed by singles on Friday afternoon to conclude the competition.
I've been asked on numerous occasions while walking the fairways of Caves Valley who I will be rooting for at this event. Obviously I am going to root for our Indiana University Hoosier -- Jorge Campillo. As always I will proudly wear my IU hat during this event but I might, occasionally, put on my Team Europe headwear as well. On paper the American squad has a decided advantage, but anything can happen on a golf course. Should be an exciting competition.
Players Mentioned
