Former A&M golfer Cameron Champ on his emotional victory at the Safeway Open

Key notes from Cameron Champ interview

• My granddad wanted me to play this week, and as long as he’s doing okay, he thinks I should play this week. If something dramatic happens, I can always take a quick flight home. This week I’m back on the grind and in a place where I’m very comfortable, in Las Vegas.
   
• The victory is finally starting to sink in. When I think back about it, one of the biggest things about this weekend was that I was able to do what I needed to do when I needed to do it. To be able to win when I felt like I needed to for my family was huge. Everything that comes with that win is huge too. Getting that extension on the PGA Tour for a few more years and winning a ticket to the Masters which has been a dream of mine since I was a kid—it’s all starting to sink in. It’s definitely an awesome feeling for me.
   
• That moment on the 18th meant everything to me. Like you said, it just kind of all came out. I was trying to hold it in, but that moment just meant everything. To give my grandpa that last gift and to let him know was amazing. He wanted to go to the Masters. That was his biggest goal was for him to set foot on those grounds with me. That was my goal at the start of the year, and when I made that putt and realized I was in the Masters' field this year, it was huge. Winning on the PGA is not easy, but doing it when I needed to the most was a huge relief and great feeling. To do it for him was just awesome.
   
• I think Pops is my dad’s and my hero. My dad is my hero, and my Grandpa is my hero. Going through this experience has made me realize golf isn’t everything. It was what I struggled with last year. People would think this or that about it, and it wasn’t fun at all. Going through this just really made me realize that golf isn’t everything. There are lots of other things. I love my career, but at the end of the day, I’m going to go home to my family and my girlfriend. All weekend I had that kind of free-spirited mindset. I never got mad and never held onto anything. I think that’s what got me through that week. 
   
• Pops had a huge grin on his face when I saw him this week. We were talking and like 20 minutes later he just says, “That’s his job. He should be winning.” It was a  hilarious comment, especially with the way he said it. It was hilarious, and we were all dying. When you can just tell when someone is that weak, that they don’t have that much energy and are really quiet. His eyes were wide open, and he was talking normally. Maybe this gives him a little extra time, who knows. To see that smile on his face was the biggest achievement of it all.
   
• I’m very pleased with my game right now. It’s more of a mindset. That’s what I really struggled with in junior golf and in college. I had the tools, but I would just put way too much pressure on myself. I was always worried about what other people thought. It’s a maturity thing. Where I am maturity-wise and growing as a person is dramatically different than last year.  We’re turning in the right direction and working on all the right things. I’m just looking forward to the end of the year.
   
• I remember playing in the HP in Houston. Coach J.T. Higgins came down and watched me, and he invited me to come to see the school. I was never thinking about Texas A&M at all. I grew up in California. UCLA was the school. I went and saw A&M, and I loved it. It had that small-town feeling, and it was a little further away from the parents. I loved everything about it. It was different conditions for me too. I didn’t grow up with wind or on Bermuda on the golf course. J.T. made me feel at home there. I fell in love with this place and made some amazing friends for life. Now that I’m based in Houston, I’m definitely trying to come to some games this year. I’m so glad I came to Texas A&M, and I will be an Aggie for the rest of my life.