Earlier this week, Cameron Champ’s grandfather Mack passed away from stomach cancer. He was 78 years old.
Since his emergence on Tour last fall, Champ has made it clear just how much family means to him, and that Mack — the man who taught him the game — was the reason he’d made it this far. On the green after his debut win at last year’s Sanderson Farms, Cameron’s father Jeff called up Mack on his phone so that the three could share the moment together.
This fall, Mac’s health took a turn for the worse. He entered hospice care in Sacramento at the family’s home. During the week of the Safeway Open, Cameron commuted from Sacramento to Napa to spend extra time together. He wrote “PaPa” on his Nikes. And he won the event in emotional, inspiring fashion. Again, Jeff joined him on the green — and again he brought Mack with him on the phone. It was clear how much the moment meant to all three men.
“This will definitely be the greatest moment of my golfing career,” Cameron said afterwards.
