There are very few people on Earth who have stared down Tiger Woods in his prime on a major championship Sunday and come out on top.
YE Yang is the only player to beat Tiger when he entered Sunday of a major championship in the lead, but a few others have held off a hard-charging Woods with a major title in the balance. Rich Beem beat Woods by one shot at the 2002 PGA Championship. Angel Cabrera did likewise at the 2007 U.S. Open. And Michael Campbell famously beat Woods by two at the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 to win his only major championship.
That Sunday at Pinehurst started with Retief Goosen holding a three-shot lead over Jason Gore and Olin Browne. Campbell was four shots off the pace and Woods six back. But Goosen dropped six shots in his first nine holes on the way to a final-round 81. That opened the door for the chasers, and it was Campbell and Woods who wound up jockeying for the title on the back nine. Campbell held the lead as he made the turn to No. 10 with Woods playing a few groups ahead.
When Campbell got to the 10th tee, Woods’ group was waiting for a ruling. It was there, during this long wait, that Campbell had a thought that would allow him to hold off Tiger Woods, matching his one-under 69, to win by two.
“There was a time when I was on the 10th tee,” Campbell told GOLF’s Josh Sens during a round at Punta Mita. “I’ve got a one-shot lead going to the back nine of a major championship against the best, Tiger. He’s playing in front of me. I’ll never forget this. His playing partner had a ruling — hit it left off the tee on a par 5. So I’m standing on the 10th tee for like 20 minutes. That’s a long time. One sentence came to me. No one taught me this. ‘See this as an opportunity, not a threat.’
“I thought, yeah, let’s have fun with this. If you watch the coverage, I’m just having fun. I’m just being a kid, just enjoying the moment.”
Campbell, who got into the U.S. Open field via sectional qualifying in England, made a clutch birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole to finally put Woods at arm’s length. He made a bogey on the final hole, but that didn’t matter as his place in U.S. Open history was already secure.
You can check out Campbell’s talk with Sens in the video above or watch the full Punta Mita video here.
