Michael Campbell
Michael Shane Campbell is a New Zealand professional golfer who is best known for having won the 2005 U.S. Open and, at the time, the richest prize in golf, the £1,000,000 HSBC World Match Play Championship, in the same year. He played on the European Tour and the PGA Tour of Australasia.
Early life and amateur career
Campbell was born in Hāwera, Taranaki. Ethnically, he is predominantly Māori, from the Ngāti Ruanui and Ngā Rauru iwi. He also has some Scottish ancestry, being a great-great-great-grandson of John Logan Campbell, a Scottish emigrant to New Zealand. As a young child, he lived near his mother's Wai-o-Turi marae at Whenuakura, just south of Patea, and also spent much of his time with whānau at his father's Taiporohenui marae, near Hāwera.Like many young New Zealand boys, Campbell dreamed of playing for the All Blacks, and began playing rugby union, but his mother vetoed his participation. While he was talented at several other sports, such as softball, squash and table tennis, his passion turned out to be golf.
Aged seven, he began playing golf on the Patea golf course, which had the greens fenced to keep sheep off them. He was introduced to the game by an uncle, Roger Rei, but was also undoubtedly influenced by his father, Tom Campbell, who was a single-figure handicapper. The family moved south to Tītahi Bay, where Campbell joined the Titahi Bay golf club aged 10. He developed his skills in junior ranks at nearby Paraparaumu and attended school at Mana College but left without any qualifications.
From 1988, Campbell represented New Zealand in various international amateur competitions, including the team victory at the 1992 Eisenhower Trophy.
Professional career
In 1993, he turned professional. In 1995, in his first full season on the European Tour, he held a two-shot lead after the third round of The Open Championship, but faded after a final-round 76. He nonetheless remained in contention until the final hole, missing a playoff with Costantino Rocca and John Daly by one stroke. At the end of 1995 Campbell had moved to 28th in the Official World Golf Ranking.Within three years after his third-place-finish in The Open Championship, Campbell fell into a slump and went down to 465th in World Ranking.
Campbell eventually established himself as a solid tour performer, finishing fourth on the European Tour Order of Merit in 2000, and again finishing in the top ten of the Order of Merit in 2002. He won the PGA Tour of Australasia's Order of Merit during the 1999/2000 season.
Campbell failed to make the cut in his first five 2005 tournaments. He made a quick turnaround and missed only one cut in the next 16 tournaments. He finished in the top six of both the Open Championship and PGA Championship, and recorded top-five placings in three other tournaments.
2005 U.S. Open
Campbell qualified for the U.S. Open through sectional qualifying. The USGA introduced European qualifying for the first time, which took place at Walton Heath. He had to sink an 8-foot birdie putt on the last hole of qualifying to secure his place in the U.S. Open.In the tournament itself, Campbell ended the third round four strokes behind Retief Goosen, the event's defending champion. On the final day, Goosen ballooned to an 81. Campbell shot 69 for the final round and was the only golfer in the last two pairings of the day to break 80. Campbell's main competition turned out to be Tiger Woods, who at one point closed to within one shot of Campbell.
In the end, Woods was undone by bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes, and Campbell won his first major by two shots, carding an even par of 280. With his win, he became only the second New Zealander to win a major, and also the first winner of the U.S. Open since Steve Jones in 1996 who had entered the event via sectional qualifying.
Two months later, in August, Campbell finished in a tie for 6th in the PGA Championship at Baltusrol, won by Phil Mickelson.
World Match Play champion
In September 2005, Campbell won the HSBC World Match Play Championship at Wentworth. He defeated Australian Geoff Ogilvy before being taken to the 37th hole by another Australian, Steve Elkington, in the quarter-final.In the semi-final he faced Retief Goosen who the previous day had recorded a 12 and 11 win over Mark Hensby. Campbell defeated Goosen 7 and 6 and the next day beat Irishman Paul McGinley 2 and 1 in the final to take the championship and win the £1,000,000 richest prize in golf. He became only the fourth golfer to win the U.S. Open and the World Match Play titles in the same year, joining Gary Player, Hale Irwin and Ernie Els, and the win moved him to the top of the European Order of Merit, ahead of Goosen. He finished the year ranked second on the Order of Merit.
Later career, retirement and comeback
Campbell had no top-10 finishes on the European Tour between 2009 and September 2012, although his U.S. Open win meant he retained his playing rights. In October 2012, he finished third in the Portugal Masters, and in December he finished 8th in the Hong Kong Open. He retired from golf in 2015, citing an ankle injury and personal issues.In December 2017, Campbell revealed in an interview with bunkered magazine that he was planning to make a European Tour comeback in 2018 with a view to playing on the Staysure Tour and PGA Tour Champions when he turns 50 in February 2019. He is automatically qualified for the U.S. Senior Open from 2019 until 2028 as all former U.S. Open champions are exempt from qualifying for ten years. He was unable to play in the New Zealand Open as planned, having aggravated an old injury to a tendon in his left ankle during training.
Campbell is a co-founder of the Project Litefoot Trust, which is helping New Zealand community sports clubs reduce their environmental impact, while saving money for sport.
Personal life
Campbell's wife Julie and his sons Thomas and Jordan primarily reside in Sydney, Australia, which is Julie's hometown. In 2012 he moved first to Switzerland and then to southern Spain, where he opened a golf academy and has been the brand ambassador for a golf resort.Among his many New Zealand television appearances in 2008 was a cameo role in an episode of sports skit comedy show Pulp Sport.
Awards and honors
- In the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours, Campbell was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to golf.
- On 29 October 2005, Campbell was awarded Honorary Life Membership of The European Tour for his U.S. Open win.
- In the 2006 New Year Honours, Campbell was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to golf.
Amateur wins
- 1992 Australian Amateur, New South Wales Amateur
Professional wins (15)
PGA Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 19 Jun 2005 | U.S. Open | E | 2 strokes |  European Tour wins (8)1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia2Co-sanctioned by the Asian PGA Tour European Tour playoff record
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