Former Indiana star Jorge Campillo finishes 2nd in Euro Tour event, vaulting up world rankings

For the first time in nearly four years, an Indiana Hoosier might be soon back on a major championship level stage in professional golf.

After a 2nd-place finish at the European Tour’s Tshwane Open in South Africa this past weekend, Jorge Campillo surged into the the Top 125 of the Official World Golf Ranking — the first time a Hoosier’s been ranked that high since Jeff Overton in June 2013. This stupid-good up-and-down from below the TV tower was the highlight of another solid week to start 2017 for the former Hoosier star.

It’s been a heck of a start to the 2016-17 wrap around Euro Tour schedule for Campillo. He’s already turned in three Top-10 performance since November, and seems primed to possibly vault further and further up the rankings. He sits 26th in the European Tour’s Race To Dubai rankings (that’s the Euro version of the FedEx Cup) -- just ahead of Masters Champ Danny Willett and two-time major winner Martin Kaymer. If he’s able to crack the Top 20, it could put him in position for an invite to the Open Championship in July.

Campillo’s form is a reversal of a rough stretch for Hoosier professional golfers since Overton’s Ryder Cup berth and success in the early-2010’s. Overton’s battled injuries and failed to regain full-time PGA Tour status on a major medical exemption after missing the cut at this year’s Honda Classic — falling to 800th in the OWGR. Steve Wheatcroft turned in a pair of Top-5s in mid-level events on the PGA Tour last season, but never cracked the Top 250 in the OWGR.