Chad Campbell back on track with win in Viking Classic at Annandale Golf Club

From WorldGolf.com News Services

Chad Campbell came through with a final-round score of 3-under-par 69 Sunday to break from the pack and win the title at the Viking Classic by one shot over rookie Johnson Wagner.

Campbell's four-round total of 13-under-par 275 tied D.J. Trahan (2006) for the highest winning score in Viking Classic history, but gave him the $630,000 victory. Campbell also became the first player in the last 10 years to win the tournament at Annandale Golf Club in Madison, Miss., despite not playing in the final group on Sunday.

It was a high point in what has been a frustrating season for Campbell. His previous best finish in 2007 was a fourth-place effort in the World Golf Championship-Accenture Match Play Championship and he had just four top-25 finishes.

That was a far cry from the form he'd shown in recent years, earning a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team and winning the 2003 Tour Championship.

"I don't know what I got into doing," Campbell told reporters. "I just wanted to get back into what I was doing (well) - whatever that was. I just asked a couple of guys, 'What am I doing different than I used to do.' They'd throw out ideas, I'd try them and if they didn't work, they didn't work.

"It's tough to get rid of bad habits and I think I've gotten into a lot of bad habits since last year."

The PGA Fall Series victory moved Campbell past the $1.5 million mark in earnings. However, the Texas native said his goal is to record a fifth consecutive top-30 finish on the Tour money list - a feat that would still require him to win more than $400,000 in his final two tournaments.

Campbell had two birdies against a bogey on the front nine, but birdied Nos. 10 and 11 to get to 13 under for the tournament. After a bogey at No. 15, Campbell made back-to-back birdies at 17 and 18 to get to 14 under, but gave a shot back by making a bogey six at the par-5 18th hole.

Still, it was good enough to give Campbell his first top-50 finish since ending tied for 15th at the Travelers Championship on June 24. He said that hopefully the victory represents a move in the right direction.

"I think it's the first step," Campbell said. "There's still a lot of work. I still hit quite a few bad shots out there."

Following Campbell at 13 under and Wagner at 12 under, Boo Weekley and Bill Haas tied for third at 11 under. John Senden, Shaun Micheel and David Branshaw, who entered the final round with a two-shot lead, tied for fifth at 10 under

Wagner was in contention until a late bogey at the par-4 17th took him out of the tournament. The runner-up performance was still the best of his career, almost assuring him of keeping his Tour card for next year and continuing to build his confidence.

"That's all it ever is with me," Wagner told the press. "I finally started believing that I deserve to be out here and I'm playing like it, so it's nice."

October 1, 2007