U.S. Open: Brian Campbell is low amateur

By Dave Shedloski, USGA UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – Brian Campbell made a splash in his second U.S. Open by getting his name atop the leader board early in Round 2. He ended it in first place, too, at least among amateurs in the field at Chambers Bay. With a closing 2-under-par 68 on Sunday, Campbell crossed the finish line in 5-over 285 to earn low-amateur honors. One of six amateurs to make the cut – the most since 1966 – Campbell, 22, of Irvine, Calif., finished two strokes ahead of Ollie Schneiderjans, 22, of Powder Springs, Ga., and Denny McCarthy, 22, of Rockville, Md. An All-America selection at Georgia Tech, Schneiderjans, had a chance to tie Campbell on the final hole but carded a bogey for 73-287. McCarthy shot 72. Campbell got as low as 5 under in the second round and was tied for the lead with Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson before falling back with a 72. His closing 68 came on the heels of a disheartening 78 in Saturday’s third round. “I was definitely a little disappointed with my round yesterday, because I was in a good position. But that was done with and I knew today was a new day, and I was going to go shoot my best score and then see where it takes me,” said Campbell, the Big Ten Player of the Year for the University of Illinois. His bounceback Sunday and the honor of being the low amateur in the U.S. Open made up for Saturday’s tough day. In his six career U.S. Open rounds, which includes two rounds last year at Pinehurst No. 2, Campbell carded three scores of par or better. “Definitely, I'm ecstatic. It's been a great week,” said Campbell, who has yet to decide if he is going to remain an amateur and seek a berth on the USA Walker Cup Team at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in England this fall. “It’s really fun to be playing well and have everyone chanting your name. I came into the week not really expecting too much. On a course like this, I felt like it could have gone either way. So to come out and shoot some good scores and get some good confidence going was nice." For full results from all 16 amateurs, click on the results link.