Campbell lives the dream

THE new champion looked at the trophy, tapped it, squeezed it and hugged it, as if he was trying to discover if this was for real or not.

Michael Campbell was ranked 80th in the world at the start of the week, had missed five successive cuts on the European Tour at the start of the year and he wouldn’t have been in Pinehurst at all last week were it not for the USGA decision to hold a qualifier in Britain. He scraped through at Walton Heath and today he is US Open champion.

“Ben Hogan has been my hero all my life,” he mused yesterday as he gazed in wonder at the piece of silver shining in his arms. “Look, there’s Palmer, there’s Nicklaus. My name is beside theirs. It’s unbelievable.”

Campbell’s sense of shock was perfectly understandable. “If I needed to fly to the US, I wouldn’t have spent the money for the ticket - and I wouldn’t be here next to this trophy,” he admitted. “You pay for your plane trip and your accommodation for one day, so the answer is no.”

At the mention of Bob Charles, the only previous New Zealander to win a major, the British Open at Lytham in 1963, his eyes welled up and he said: “To be mentioned in the same sentence as Bob Charles is a real honour for me.”

Campbell is now 23rd in the rankings and will be feted for the rest of his days back in Taranaki where he was born and in Wellington where he has a home, although he resides for the most part in Brighton, England.

New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark delayed the weekly cabinet meeting and work in factories, shops and offices around New Zealand came to a halt to watch the telecast. At around 10.45am, the whole country went ballistic as Campbell finished off the job.

More than 50 members of the nine-hole Titahi Golf Club, where he was introduced to golf at the age of 10, gathered at 7.30am for the final round. Campbell’s parents were among them, his father Tom admitting he had a chance to back his son at 150/1 and didn’t take it. “Michael’s been dreaming about this since he was a youngster so I’m glad he’s been able to fulfil that dream.”

Once the euphoria dies down, Campbell will turn his attentions to Saturday’s rugby Test in Christchurch. And joining him in that pursuit will be countryman Stevie Williams, caddy to runner-up Tiger Woods, and ironically one of the first to hug and congratulate Campbell on his victory.

“This means that I can now make the front pages along with the All Blacks,” Campbell glowed. “The All Blacks won the World Cup in 1987 but to win this championship for the country, obviously I did it for myself, but also for the sports fans back home.

“I was very, very close to my grandmother and before she died, when I was aged 16, she told me I would change people’s lives. She instilled confidence in me. And when she passed away, my golf game sky-rocketed. I know she’s with me right now and when I holed that putt and looked to the sky, I just though to myself, ‘she’s there, smiling at me’.”

The emotion shown by the 36-year-old after the final putt was understandable given the trouble he has endured with injuries and the loss of his playing privileges in Europe in 1999. He was on the point of chucking it all in and selling golf balls for a living. “I missed my European Tour card and also Australasia and had no place to play. Luckily, I got a few invites and regained my card on both tours. So it’s been a roller-coaster.

“Having that putt to win the US Open is what you dreamed about as a kid. I remember watching Augusta at 5 or 6 in the morning because of the time difference. I used to miss school sometimes if there was a play-off.”

Campbell embodied the Maori spirit of ‘Kia Kaha’ which means inner strength. He wears the motto on the back of his shirts, part of his own range, camboclothing.com. He drank five bottles of water on Sunday but confessed it was nerves that caused him to visit the toilet on five occasions.

Being a Maori means a huge amount to Campbell. “Many, many years ago, a guy came over from Scotland (Logan Campbell). He landed in Auckland and became mayor of the city. He had many wives and one was a Maori lady. That’s where the Cambo comes from, it’s Scottish. It’s in my blood to play golf.

“I know it’s going to break down all the barriers back home. Rugby is the main sport and being an All Black is everything. But I think winning a major championship for the Kiwis is going to be a great thing for the game of golf, especially for the Maori people. They’re very talented at rugby but golf hasn’t been one of their top priorities.”

Campbell said Woods’ caddy Williams had been a great source of encouragement.

“Stevie has been a great influence on my career the last ten years. He’s been very supportive of my golf, New Zealand junior golf. Being associated with Tiger, he’s brought back a lot of experience of the game of golf to New Zealand. He told me I’d made a lot of people back home very, very proud. And I got emotional once again and lost it completely.

“We have an understanding that Maori people are trodden on. They get very complacent. But you can turn your whole career around very quickly. It’s like any sport we play, we sometimes get lazy and I’ll be the first to admit to that.”

Campbell will be at The K-Club next week for the European Open and is guaranteed a great welcome. After that, though, it could be that he will again try his luck in the States.

“Winning this week has definitely changed my attitude and direction a little bit”, he said. “I might just come over here, if I’m allowed to play, among my fellow peers like Darren Clarke, Ian Poulter, Padraig Harrington and so on.

“My life as a golfer will change now but as a person, never. You ask anybody close to me, all I care about is family. And certainly golf is always second in my life.”