AUGUSTA, Ga. — A softer course, suspended play and double bogey on No. 13 penalized Cameron Champ during Saturday’s third round of the Masters Tournament.
Champ managed just one birdie on the second nine on No. 15 after play was suspended for about 75 minutes due to weather. He finished Saturday 5-over 77 to go to 1-over for the tournament.
“I didn’t play that bad, just couldn’t get anything going. Made too many mistakes and this place will penalize you for that,” Champ said.
Champ had made it to the 10th green just before the horn sounded. He said it wasn’t so much the stoppage of play that threw him off, but rather the course playing softer after the downpour that messed him up.
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“The greens were a lot slower; I learned that the first few holes. And I think the rest of the way, it definitely played softer,” Champ said. “My 7-iron stuck on 15 and the other day you had to land it on the front to keep it on. Even the same on 17, that bunker shot checked up and I wasn’t expecting that at all.”
Champ made just three birdies all afternoon, including on Nos. 2 and 3, and bogeyed three of the first five holes.
“I didn’t hit many bad shots. You miss your shots by a yard and you get penalized like I said. I shot 2-over and I didn’t feel like I shot 2-over,” Champ said.
The round came a day after the 25-year-old made headlines for speaking out against Georgia’s recently passed voting bill which adds restrictions and threatens to suppress the Black vote, Champ said.
“I think a lot of people are very disappointed to see (the law),” he said this week. “As you can tell, it really targets certain Black communities and makes it harder to vote, which to me, it’s everyone’s right to vote. For me to see that, it’s very shocking.”
His stance caught the attention of voting rights strategist and organizer, Stacey Abrams.
Thank you @Cameron__Champ for using your platform at @TheMasters to speak out against voter suppression. Now, with the right to vote under attack in state legislatures across the country, it is crucial that all use their voices to defend democracy. #gapolhttps://t.co/6sQ8kATMEl
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) April 10, 2021
Champ may have used his platform as a professional golfer to draw attention to a national and statewide issue, but between the ropes his objective is to get a handle on Augusta National and get back on course in the tournament.
Champ made just three birdies all afternoon, including on Nos. 2 and 3, and bogeyed three of the first five holes.
“I didn’t hit many bad shots. You miss your shots by a yard and you get penalized like I said,” Champ said.
