Senior continues IU tradition

When IU men’s golf coach Mike Mayer took a recruiting trip to the 2004 Junior Orange Bowl International, he had never heard of Jorge Campillo.

During his recruitment of former IU golfer Santiago Quirarte, Mayer was struck by the temperament of the young man from Caceres, Spain.

“His golf swing was his golf swing,” Mayer said. “It didn’t wow me. I liked the way he conducted himself.”

Little did Mayer know that in four years, Campillo would go from a virtual unknown to one of IU’s most accomplished athletes. Campillo is currently second on the school’s all-time scoring average list and has captured six career tournament victories.

Campillo was unanimously named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2006, the second Hoosier to do so, and broke the all-time freshman scoring mark. Life off the course, however, was rougher.

“My first semester was real hard,” Campillo said. “The language was so hard, and everyone here moves at a fast pace. I had to get where I was going
much faster.”

Since then, Campillo has matured as a person and a golfer.

Last year, Campillo found his stroke. He took home the Triple Crown of the Big Ten, receiving the Les Bolstad Award for lowest average stroke in the conference, a Big Ten championship and Big Ten Golfer of the Year. Campillo captained the European team to victory in the Palmer Cup last summer and entered his senior year ranked as the No. 3 amateur player in the world.

As Campillo takes the golf world by storm, Mayer said his team should soak in everything they can.

“When I talk to our freshmen in the lineup, I remind them frequently that they have one of the top players in the world here in their backyard,” Mayer said, “and they better take advantage of it.”

Junior Eric Serch, also from Spain, and sophomore Paul Park said they can all learn from Campillo.

“My biggest problem is the game itself,” Serch said. “And he manages himself very well on the golf course, so I ask him for tips and things like that.”
“He’s a field player, and I feel that if I integrate that into my game, I will be a lot better,”
Park said.

Mayer said having a top-ranked player on his team – and the chance to beat him every day – gives his teammates an advantage once competition starts.
“When we get out there to play against those other players, there’s no deer-in-the-headlights look for us,” Mayer said.

Campillo plans to enter the professional ranks after the NCAA Championships, joining some IU alumni. Shaun Micheel, a 1991 IU graduate, won the 2003 PGA Championship and has earned $7 million in his career, according to www.databasegolf.com. Jeff Overton, a 2005 IU graduate, has earned more than $2 million.

Though current professionals have been successful, Mayer sees something different in Campillo. If Mayer’s evaluations are correct, Campillo may want to open a new banking account.

“If I were to compare him to Shaun and Jeff, then I would say that at this stage, where they were right now, Jorge is the best player of the bunch,” Mayer said.