The distance between contender and pretender is shorter than a tap-in putt at golf's elite level.

Masters co-leader Chad Campbell hits from a greenside bunker on No. 7 on Friday at Augusta National Golf Club. (Jackie Ricciardi/Staff)

Chad Campbell never felt like he fit either description.

The Masters Tournament co-leader never bristled, flinched or flushed, then, as he took question after question Friday about his failure to live up to the hype as golf's next star-in-the-making.

"I never saw myself as high profile, as somebody who's supposed to win a bunch of majors or anything," Campbell said. "I never saw myself like that, so it's kind of all been the same the whole time of my career."

His peers thought otherwise. They voted him the "next player most likely to win a major" in a 2003 Sports Illustrated poll conducted shortly after he had finished second at the PGA Championship and won The Tour Championship.

He has yet to fulfill that prediction -- or even come close. Campbell has finished better than 17th in just one major since, a tie for third in the 2006 Masters, and has finished better than 22nd in just one tournament this year.

Still, Campbell is halfway to finally proving his fellow pros right. He flirted with the Masters' single-round scoring record of 63 on Thursday. A pair of bogeys on the closing holes left him with 7-under-par 65.

He moved to 9 under par for the tournament with 70 on Friday but again missed an opportunity to pull away from the field. He was 11 under par and six shots clear of the field through his first 10 holes Friday, only to post back-to-back bogeys at Amen Corner.

"I tried not to pay that much attention," Campbell said.

The struggles proved temporary. He made par at No. 13, a par-5, and followed with three more. He bogeyed No. 17 for the second day in a row but got that shot back with a birdie at No. 18 when a putt struck much too hard hit the hole and went in. Campbell estimated the ball would have rolled five feet past the cup otherwise.

Campbell will play with co-leader Kenny Perry in today's third round. They are a shot ahead of Angel Cabrera and two more clear of the rest of the field, and the 41 chasers could be in danger of falling well behind if Perry's summary of Campbell's game is correct.

At one time Friday, Campbell was at 11-under par and held a six-shot lead. He settled for 70 and a share of the lead. (Kendrick Brinson/Special)

"He's the type of guy who, when he gets on a roll, he makes a lot of birdies," Perry said. "That will be nice, because then it becomes a situation where one guy can drag the other guy across the finish line."

Campbell learned the way to Augusta's finish line in 2006. He was the 36-hole leader and was paired with eventual champion Phil Mickelson for the third round.

Campbell shot 3-over-par 75 in that round, which was spread over two days because of inclement weather, and finished three strokes behind the winner.

Campbell is still smarting at memories of that tournament, particularly an approach shot at the par-5 15th that hit the water and essentially eliminated him from contention. Still, he is hoping the experience helps him finally become the next player to win a major.

"I don't really know exactly what I learned, but I know it's nice that I've been in that position before," he said. "There's still a long ways to go, but it's definitely nice to not be on foreign ground."

Reach Adam Van Brimmer at adam.vanbrimmer@savannahnow.com.