| Thanks for joining us Cameron.
Let’s start by telling us about your
family, brothers, sisters, etc. Who in
the family plays golf?
Well I am an only child. My Mom
and Dad had to work so they would
leave me with my Grandfather when I
was young. He was an avid golfer and
he used to play every single day. He
would take me out to the golf course.
Finally he went and got my uncle’s
golf clubs and cut them down for me.
Then he took me out to the driving
range. That started when I was four
and my parents did not know I played
until I was about six.
So that was your grandfather’s
version of babysitting? He would go to
the golf course and you got to tag?
along
Yeah. My parents came to watch me
play with him when I was about six. At
age seven they got me a coach. At age
eight I played my very first
tournament in an 8-11 age group and I
came in second. That got me really
excited about competing.
Was this all in the state of
Washington? Were you born there?
No I was born in Hawaii but moved
when I was very little after my Dad
retired from the Air Force.
Tell us about school. What year
will you be in? What subjects you like
and the ones that are not so
exciting
I will be a senior. I like school.
I’m pretty good at math but I don’t
like history or chemistry. Of course
my chemistry teacher played golf so I
got through the subject pretty well
because we had that in common. I
still had to work for my grade but we
had that interest together.
If you did not play golf, what
would be your sport?
I like to snowboard. When I was
little I did just about everything. I
played soccer, baseball, basketball,
swimming. As I got older I would give
up a sport to focus more on golf. I
quit pretty much all the other sports
right before middle school to focus on
golf.
What do you think attracts you to
this sport?
One of the reasons is because I
was the best player out there. I liked
winning. Also when you play bad you
cannot blame it on other people. In
team sports you can play very well and
your team plays well or poorly you
might not get as noticed as much. If I
did not play golf I don’t know if I
would even do a team sport. I probably
would snowboard. I have been doing
that as long as I have been playing
golf.
Are you a stylistic snowboarder or
a fast snowboarder?
Fast. I like the speed.
Does that also mean you
deliberately take time off from golf
to get away or do you just play less?
I just play less. Washington has
some pretty bad weather in the winter
so you don’t get to play as much. But
when I have to get ready for a
tournament I have to go out and
practice in the rain and cold. Which
is good because bad weather does not
bother me. I have been playing in it
all my life. I like the story where
Ryan Moore woke up on the last day of
the NCAA’s, saw it was raining, and
knew he was going to win.
Wide circle of friends or small
circle of friends?
Wide circle I think. Especially
out here playing golf and at all the
AJGA Invitationals. At school I hang
out with my school friends but since I
practice every day almost, after
school I hang out with my golf
friends.
Let’s talk about your golf game.
Is there one area you feel is stronger
than the others?
Probably ball striking, the
ability to hit the ball straight. And
that’s both off the tee and
irons.
Is there a part of your game that
will be weaker sometimes?
Sometimes it is my putting. Making
enough putts is an essential part of
playing well for me so I will
sometimes have to go work on it. I
usually hit the ball well so when I go
low it is because I made some
putts.
Tell us about a typical non-
tournament week as far as practice is
concerned.
I warm up on the range and then go
play. The depending on how I played I
come in and go to the range or work on
my short game. If I hit the ball well,
I don’t work on the range, I just go
straight to the short game practice
area.
Do you have a teacher?
Yes but I don’t see him much. He
actually does not want me to be
dependent on him to always fix things.
He wants me to be able to fix things
on my own.
Compare and contrast your game
from two years ago to today.
Well I hit it further so I hit
different irons into the greens and I
am definitely putting a lot better.
When I was younger I would hit the
greens more than other people and putt
okay and win. But on the AJGA
everybody can hit greens so you have
to make putts to play well.
You really came on the scene this
year with your first AJGA win. Tell us
how that happened.
Well I had a few second place
finishes on the Nike Junior events but
then I started playing with the older
kids and tried way too hard last year.
This year I decided that I did not
care how the other players did, that I
was going to play my game and have
fun. It really helped. I knew I had
the game to win, but it was about
putting together good rounds every
single day. I try to make the best of
every single day.
That sounds like a great last
comment. Thanks for talking with us
Cameron.
No problem, thank you.
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