Ex-Rebel Campbell finds age no PGA handicap

Remember that critically acclaimed but short-lived TV show called "Men of a Certain Age" starring Ray Romano, about guys who were closing in hard on middle age and trying just as hard to deal with it?

The PGA Tour also has men of a certain age. And here's usually what happens to them after they turn 40:

Their priorities change.

They probably have a wife, a couple of kids. The kids may be of a certain age, too — an age in which they wish dad would stay home to watch their soccer game or dance recital, instead of chase after the little dimpled ball at the Quad Cities Open.

Traveling may become a grind. The courtesy cars may not seem like such a big deal anymore, even if they are well appointed with soft Corinthian leather.

Maybe an old injury flares up. Or a new one.

Maybe they don't look so good in one of those wide white belts and golf trousers with skinny legs that today's young players prefer.

Maybe they get attacked by an angry sea monster, like in that Geico commercial.

The game changes. The game marches on.

It's a power game today. Guys are nicknamed Big John or Long John or Bubba, and they all can hit it from the tips into another galaxy. Or into Sheldon Adelson's ostentatious swimming pool flanking No. 8 at TPC Summerlin.

Remember when you could massage and finesse your way to a 66 by swinging the short irons and wielding the putter? Happened all the time during Ben Hogan's era. Harder to do in Big Bertha's.

Pro golf is just like all the other sports now. It becomes harder to stay competitive once you turn 40. For all the reasons listed above, and probably for some other reasons, too.

And then it gets harder to put up red numbers. Instead of "it's in the hole" more often than not "it's in the bunker."

Wins aren't so much the goal after one turns 40 on the tour. It's more about making the cut. Keeping your card. Inquiring about an exemption. Marking off the days on the calendar until you turn 50 and can start playing on the Champions Tour.

That's why what Chad Campbell is doing at TPC Summerlin this weekend under idyllic conditions is such a neat story.

Yes, Campbell is a former UNLV star, and that's pretty neat. But that was 20 years ago, if you can believe it.

Now he's 41.

Today he'll begin the final round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open with a chance to win it. He's 11 under par, tied for third with two others, two shots back of the leader.

Should Campbell do it, it would be an aberration.

Last season, there were 47 PGA Tour tournaments, and only five were won by men of a certain age. The other 42 were won by men in their 20s or 30s. Or by Jordan Spieth.

Spieth won five, including the Masters and the U.S. Open back-to-back. The last guy to do that was you-know-who (Tiger). Spieth is 22 years old. Spieth is pretty amazing.

Jordan Spieth isn't playing here this weekend. He's probably out hiring a guy with a green-shaded visor to count his money. Meanwhile, Chad Campbell was shooting 65 on Thursday and 67 on Friday for a share of the lead after 36 holes.

He shot 71 on Saturday. It was an up-and-down round, as many are. Five birdies, two on the first two holes. Four bogeys after that. Assorted pars.

Campbell, a husky Texan, was one of six former UNLV golfers who are/were playing in the Shriners before the cut. As he started after the little dimpled ball on No. 17, he stopped to exchange pleasantries with Rebels coach Dwaine Knight and his wife, Debbie.

Some rowdy guys slamming beers up on The Hill chanted "REB-ELS!"

Campbell heard them. It was nice to hear those chants, he said. It's also satisfying to be challenging the whippersnappers at the top of the leaderboard.

"Obviously, it's tough to win," he said after autographing his scorecard in the official PGA Tour trailer. "I saw something the other day that said there's more 20-somethings winning now. And the average age on Tour is a lot lower. There's a lot of good, young players, and that's good for the game.

"They hit it a long way and play really aggressive. It makes it a little tougher. The fields are a lot deeper than they have been."

Campbell, unlike a lot of men of a certain age, doesn't have to play golf for financial reasons. He has made $23,278,383 chasing around the little dimpled ball, 39th on the all-time money list.

He almost won the Masters one year, losing in a sudden-death playoff.

He thinks he still can win.

He starts today with a chance.

I have a feeling that if he's still in the hunt on 16, 17 and 18, the three closing water holes, a lot more rowdy guys are going to be chanting "REB-ELS!" They will be hoping Chad Campbell, a man of a certain golf age, can stay away from the angry sea monster.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski.