It's hard to believe anything could top Michael Campbell's 2005.
After becoming the first New Zealand-born player to win the U.S. Open, and just the second Kiwi to ever triumph in a major (Bob Charles won the 1963 British Open), his star power increased exponentially.
How much?
Consider this: In his native Wellington, Campbell's family was treated like royalty as they paraded about in an open-topped bus. It spoke volumes that Parliament suspended operations to revel in the celebratory event. New Zealand's prime minister, Helen Clark, sent him a congratulatory message. The natives also felt inclined to give him a street name (Michael Campbell Drive), even though he has split residences in Wellington and Brighton, England. By the tail end of the year he had snatched up New Zealand's esteemed Maori Sportsman of the Year award and was honored as the European Tour Golfer of the Year.
His victory galvanized his already-growing A-list celebrity, joining the All Blacks (rugby), yachting and mussels as the most recognizable items associated with the island nation.
Rest assured, had Campbell done nothing else the rest of the year his status as King Kiwi wouldn't have changed a smidgen. Of course, he didn't exactly rest on his laurels. He notched two top-10 finishes in the season's final two majors before altering history a little more.
In winning the HSBC World Match Play Championship last November in England, he followed in the footsteps of Gary Player (1965), Hale Irwin ('74) and Ernie Els ('94) as the only players to win the U.S. Open and Match Play Championship in the same year.
"Seems so long ago," said the 37-year-old Campbell of his recent successes.
Tiger Woods, left, and Michael Campbell were able to laugh a bit after the two positioned themselves to win the championship last year. (John Mummert/USGA)
One could be led to believe that there could be two disparate reasons for that. The first can be traced to his beliefs in spiritual healing, which helps him stay in the present and keep him buoyed by the power of positive thinking. He adopted the mindset soon after seeing his career come perilously close to flat-lining in 1998. A severe wrist injury in 1995 served as the catalyst before he lost his card on both the Australasian and European Tours. At that point, he said, he was tempted one day after a particularly poor showing to chop up his clubs. It had gotten so bad that he dropped to 360th in the Official World Golf Rankings.
But his wife Julie gave him a pep talk, leading to a renaissance of sorts. In '99, with no playing status, he was offered sponsor's exemptions on the Australasian and European Tours. Since then he's won eight times, including his U.S. Open victory, which became his second win on American soil.
In a bit of irony his Open victory reaped an Honorary Life Membership on the European Tour last year.
The second reason why it might seem "so long ago" is that, like '05, Campbell has gotten off to an inauspicious start in four showings this season. He contended at the Mercedes Championships, tying for fourth. Other than that, he's missed the cut at the Johnnie Walker Classic; tied for 33rd at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (lost in second round), and followed those events by missing the cut at the Bay Hill Invitational, Players Championship and The Masters.
The rocky beginning surely hasn't helped his cause for the PGA Tour to bend a quirky rule that currently applies to him. He sits in golfer's purgatory, in a sense, hoping to one day hold dual status on the European and PGA Tours.
Because he fell one tournament short of the required 15 events when he joined the PGA Tour in 2003, he was slapped with a five-year penalty in which he can only play 10 events in the U.S. Which means his PGA Tour schedule is already finished for the year. He can play in the four major championships, the three World Golf Championships and three other selected PGA Tour stops. The Mercedes, Bay Hill Invitational and Players Championship accounted for those three events.
Campbell has pled his case to the PGA Tour, but to no avail.
"I think if I make more than 150th from last year, 125th, whatever it is, from last year's Order of Merit, I'm [in an] unlimited events," he said.
Still, the man who received strange looks after ducking into a number of portable johns to ward off nerves by partaking in eye exercises during the U.S. Open's final round remains unfazed. He instead has tried keeping his focus on stuff that happens inside the ropes. Despite woes this season, his confidence remains intact.
"How far is it from here to the moon?" said Campbell. "I mean, there's no comparison. I've told you guys all the stories about how I changed my whole attitude and my mindset. I don't want to be a scratched record, but that's what changed my whole way of thinking. When you get results, that builds up to more confidence, sort of like climbing a ladder. Right now I feel like I'm halfway to the moon right now with my confidence.
"Pretty much to the point where I think I can win every week now going into a major, going into any tournament."
That self assurance has helped his World Ranking skyrocket to No. 22 from 80th a week before the Open last year. In many ways, the Open validated his dreams and beliefs that he had the game that, not only could compete, but could win a major on his 29th try.
Campbell wasn't exempt from qualifying and he wasn't planning on coming to the U.S. to play 36 holes just to get into the field. But since the USGA had decided for the first time to conduct international qualifiers – one was held in Japan and the other in England – Campbell chose to play on the advice of his agent. You can say it was a worthwhile decision.
Now Campbell has never been a bomber off the tee, nor has his short game exactly conjured up comparisons to Jose Maria Olazabal. So how in the world could someone with two huge deficiencies, someone who missed playing into the weekend 61 percent of the time in majors, win the U.S. Open?
The answer lied in his masterful ball-striking and putting, which overshadowed the other weaknesses.
Realizing The Dream
Entering that final round last June, Campbell remained a mere afterthought – another one of those forgettable players that might cause a stat hound years down the road to raise an eyebrow when looking at the official results. Campbell trailed two-time U.S. Open winner Retief Goosen by four strokes on a Pinehurst layout that wasn't wielding fortuitous scores. Lo and behold, though, Goosen proved to be mortal, imploding while Campbell, as is his nature, quietly hung tough.
Campbell sensed something special was brewing when he birdied the first hole, the only player in the last 16 groups to do so. While Goosen helplessly went head-over-heels like tumbleweed in a tornado, Campbell became resolute.
"All of a sudden, after about four or five holes, I thought to myself, ‘Whoa, I've got a chance here of winning the U.S. Open,' " said Campbell, the first sectional qualifier to capture the Open since Steve Jones in '96. Campbell needed to be persuaded just to play in the sectional, but since this was the first time the USGA held qualifiers oversees (one in Japan and one in England), he decided to play. "So I decided to just key my focus and try and have some fun at the same time."
But how much fun could anyone have with a Tiger lurking? Albeit late, Woods made another legendary charge. Hanging on by a thread, Woods fell eight shots off the lead with consecutive bogeys on the first two holes.
Birdies on the fourth and seventh holes gave way to new life.
"I figured if I could make one or two more birdies coming in," said Woods, "I might have a chance to win outright or in a playoff."
With nine holes to go, Campbell wrested control of the championship by darting to a two-stroke lead. Registering a long birdie putt on the par-5 10th hole fed his inner confidence the way a malnourished lion feasts on its unfortunate prey.
"I had all these affirmations, all these thoughts in my mind through the last nine holes," said Campbell. "I said to myself, ‘I'm good enough to win this tournament. I'm good enough to win this tournament.' I said it probably five times per hole.
"I had the best player in the world, Tiger, coming at me with all guns blazing."
Yet, as it turned out, the cagey Woods blinked first when the pressure mounted. On the penultimate hole, Woods missed a 4-foot comebacker that ultimately led to an untimely bogey.
When Woods' putting betrayed him at the worst of times, Campbell's became his best friend. Over the final holes he took just 12 putts, dropping a long birdie putt on the par-3 17th that gave him a three-shot cushion heading to No. 18.
"I had my opportunities to win that championship," said Woods, a two-time winner. "I did not. I did not get it done. Michael did. He did what he needed to do to win a championship."
Said Campbell: "It was one of those dreams I always felt I could achieve when I was kid. I can remember pretending to be Jack Nicklaus and holing a 2-footer for a U.S. Open, or Masters or [British] Open or the PGA [Championship]. I'm a real dreamer."
Just goes to show that even kids half a world away can realize a vision if they subscribe to unyielding perseverance.
