At first glance, what stands out Jorge Campillo (36) is his seriousness. If you observe him during the eighteen holes of a round of golf, it is difficult to discern any gesture of satisfaction. However, despite this concentration, in close contact with the man from Cáceres is the most fun. “Well, yesterday I was playing the tournament and I didn’t want to be distracted at all, so I tried to stay focused on the game as much as possible,” he commented at the end of the Magical Open in Kenya, who won brilliantly with a two-stroke lead over the Japanese Kawamura (-16). Then he did relax and display a smile with which he sealed the three-year drought despite his good game.
The Norba golfer likes to do things his way. He knows that he has quality to spare to handle himself in the European circuit (since 2012 he has never lost the card) and waits for the victories to fall under their own weight. For this reason, after the first one cost him nine years (Morocco, 2019), he was not nervous that the one he achieved yesterday in Nairobi would take three years after the one achieved in Qatar (2020). «Last year I had a good campaign and I was feeling well. It is difficult to win at golf, although sooner or later the next one had to come », he commented to ABC from Kenya. This course came from being fourth in his last tournament in India and as soon as he had a choice, he finished off. “I took the lead on the last day and the experience of my two previous titles came in handy.”
The little details
What Campillo is clear about is that, as much as he is a sports star, he is still the same simple boy as always. He spent the first ten years of his career with Borja Martín-Simó in his bag and, when this relationship ended because his friend took other career paths, he hired jesus legarrea like ‘caddy’. He had already met the Navarrese in the national teams and he went back to look for someone he trusted by his side.
Campillo is used to always being in the top positions, but he is in no rush to reach them nor does he despair when he leaves them. He has already played in six majors and with his victory yesterday he can access the PGA Tour through the new route provided by the European Tour. The top ten in the ranking at the end of the year will get the American card and for now they have already placed eighth.
He knows the United States well (he was number two in the amateur world and studied at Indiana University), but he still feels Spanish to the core. That is why he is motivated to win where Seve already did in 1978 (“it is an honor to share a trophy with him”), he takes a compatriot as an assistant and speaks Spanish to his ball. For keeping the small details of him always alive.