Chad Campbell

Chad Campbell is one of a few guys from the Tiger Woods era that is still alive and kicking. Campbell's career appeared on life support as recently as 2014, when he posted his second consecutive sub-$500k season, but he's bounced back with seasons of $1 million or more over the past three seasons. The problem with Campbell though, is that he's maxing out at this level. He hasn't had a top-3 finish since 2012 and he's had no more than three top-10s since 2008. As such, Campbell is not a good salary cap option this season.

Campbell's been at this a long time and he's had some great seasons, but those great seasons are long gone. Campbell was once one of the better players on the PGA Tour as he was making over $3 million a year before the explosion of purses. That was over a decade ago and Campbell is now in the mode of taking what he can get and what he can get these days is a few top-10s and an earnings figure just over $1 million. This isn't a knock on Campbell, to his credit, he came back from some extremely low points a few years ago when he could have just thrown in the towel, but he didn't, he persevered and now he's back in seven-figure territory. Campbell has a limited upside now though, so he's not a good salary cap option anymore. In drafts, he should go near the 10th-round.

Chad Campbell has had a very PGA TOUR career. He's won four times and earned more than $20 million, but he seems to have lost that extra gear. He is only 37, so it's not likely an age issue is slowing him, but something is. Perhaps it's the competition; after all, the PGA TOUR is loaded with talent, something that wasn't necessarily true 10 years ago when Campbell was in his prime. Whatever the reason, Campbell is no longer at his peak and seems to be just hanging on. That's not a recipe for success in salary cap leagues. He is probably worth a look in draft formats, however.

Chad Campbell has never been a great putter, but his struggles with the flat-stick the last two seasons are directly responsible for his earnings drop. Last year he ranked 170th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained. That rank, however, is easily improved, and if he does so, he could see a nice bump in earnings. Campbell has shown the ability to earn three times the amount he did last year, giving him plenty of upside. It's just a matter of whether he can get the putter figured out.

Campbell failed to crack $1 million for the first time since 2002 last season. His drop in production defies explanation, and as such, we'll just have to chalk it up to an off year. Campbell earned more than $1.7 million in each of his four previous seasons, and he's a four-time winner on the PGA TOUR, so expect him to rebound this season. Campbell plays a lot of events every year, which will give him have plenty of opportunities to get back on track early this season. His specialty is GIR, ranking 13th in 2008 and ninth in 2010.

Campbell may never reach elite status on the PGA Tour, but he's firmly planted himself just outside the top 30 on the money list. Average players will often jump up to or decline from that area, but Campbell seems to have found a home. Over the last five years, Campbell has finished with between $1.7 million and $2.8 million in earnings. Campbell's game has been pretty consistent over the last few seasons, so expect him to finish in the 30-50 range on the money list once again in 2010.

Since his breakthrough season in 2003 where he earned nearly $4 million, he has made between $2 and $3 million each season. He has been playing well the entire time, he just wasn't breaking the bank. There's no reason to think that Campbell won't get at least equal return on his investment.

Chad Campbell had a decent 2007 season, but he's not living up to the expectations that came from his first couple seasons on the PGA Tour. Campbell has an extremely high upside, but there is risk involved. Last season he pretty much had one solid showing before the month of September and that was at the WGC Match Play event, which really doesn't mean he was playing great, he might have just been lucky for a few rounds. This year will go a long way in determining if Campbell is a factor or if he fades away. Campbell has too much talent to give up on him this soon.

Campbell seems to be on the verge of greatness, yet he just can't make it to the next level. 2006 looked like it was going to be the year for Campbell to move up the ladder. He won the Bob Hope Classic in January and all the stars were aligning. Then he began a trend of playing well one week and poorly the next. The problem was, when he played well, he wasn't winning, and when he played poorly, he was missing cuts. In fact, he missed three consecutive mid-season cuts. He had some injury issues to deal with around that time, but it doesn't explain his lackluster play for the months surrounding that stretch. As frustrating as his play was in 2006, it's hard to imagine Campbell not improving in 2007. He ranked 148 in putting last year, imagine what he could have accomplished if he ranked in the top 100. Interesting note, since Campbell joined the tour in 2002 he's rotated years in the top 100 for putting stats. One year in, the next out. If this five-year trend holds true, his putting should improve in 2007.

Campbell earned more than $2.3 million last year but fell short of expectations. The playoff loss to Adam Scott at the Nissan Open prevented Campbell from having a really big year. A certain confidence comes with winning and if Campbell had won early in the season it might have carried him through the year. That said, he still had a pretty good year. He managed another runner-up finish late in the year as well as a third-place finish. Campbell also tees it up 25-30 times each year, which gives him plenty of chances to make money. Campbell should make it back to the winner's circle this year.

Campbell is a tremendous ball striker who only needs a little cooperation from his putter to be successful. Last year he ranked 160th in putting and still managed to earn over $2 million. Campbell has been a winner at every level, so his 2003 season where he earned $3.9 million was no fluke. I like taking chances on players who are just a little bit away from greatness. For Campbell he simply needs to improve his putting just a bit to crack the $4 million mark. I think he figured it out and has another big year.

Campbell went from a guy who was still waiting to win, to a guy who has become a factor at all of the big tourneys. It's hard to find a chink in his armor, but the one area he could improve on is his play out of the sand. With that said, he strikes the ball very well, and his putting puts him in the top third on tour. I don't see any reason for Campbell to slow down this year. We would be surprised if he does not get at least two wins this year.