Scott Campbell remembers the first time he flew on an airplane.
It was 1977, and the senior-to-be at Ardmore High School traveled to Napa, Calif., for the Insurance Youth Championship at Silverado Country Club. Traveling by himself to take on the country’s best teen golfers, Campbell was very nervous about playing in the tournament.
He wound up missing the cut. Was it a case of bad nerves?
“Very much so,” Campbell said.
But he said he wouldn’t trade the experience.
“For one, what I took from there was that I did belong there, and secondly, it helped me in future tournaments.”
Campbell, who played collegiately at Central Oklahoma, now gets to see his son Cash play in the same prestigious tournament — now called the Trusted Choice Big “I” National Championship — with two of his Ardmore High teammates on the home turf.
“It’s really amazing,” said Scott Campbell, 49, a rental properties owner in Ardmore, of his straight-A son’s participation. “I’m super proud he’s followed in my footsteps. I’m proud he’s taken it seriously.”
Plainview alumna Paige Martin can attest to playing in the Big “I” — three times.
She was there for the first Big “I” at Dornick Hills, when the tournament was known as the Independent Insurance Agent National Championship.
“You always want to play and do well on your home course because it’s expected of you,” said Martin, 20, a member of the NAIA champion Oklahoma City University team. “I was able to hold it together and play well. Having everybody there helped me out, of course.”
Martin, the 2007 state Class 3A champion, made the cut in each of her appearances. She also played in the 2006 tourney in Odessa, Texas, and the 2007 edition in Boise, Idaho, making the top 20 both times.
“You get more comfortable with the competition each time,” Martin said.
She also got to know another golfer with the last name Woods in the tourney. No, it wasn’t Tiger; it was his niece Cheyenne.
“We played together four or five times in different tournaments,” Martin said. “She’s a great player, great person. I can definitely say I learned a lot from the way she plays. You can definitely tell she has some of her uncle in her.”
Cheyenne Woods was fifth in the 2004 tournament but won the 2005 event at Purdue University. Tiger is the 1990 and 1992 champion.
Cash Campbell made the Big “I” through a qualifying tournament at Dornick Hills, the same way his dad did in 1977. Cash Campbell won his qualifier with a two-day 143, topping teammate Trey Payne by one stroke. Andrew Riesen, who was a second alternate with a 145, will play in the Monday-Thursday tourney.
Cash Campbell said he and his father haven’t talked much about playing in the Big “I”, but added, “I’m pretty sure we will.”
The name of the tournament may have changed, but apparently not Ardmore’s commitment to top-rank golf.
"This goes well for Ardmore and how it supports junior golf,” Scott Campbell said. “We’re real fortunate to have the type of golf course it is. Dornick Hills is one of the finest golf courses in the state.
“If you can play Dornick Hills, you can go anywhere.”
I.C. Murrell
221-6527
Trusted Choice Big “I” National Championship
• 41st annual, Monday-Thursday at Dornick Hills
• Boys and girls tournaments
Sunday
• Ardmore High teammates Cash Campbell, Trey Payne and Andrew Riesen prepare to play the Big “I” in their backyard
