KEY POINTS:
The day after Michael Campbell won the US Open, a friend confidently tipped that "he'll never win another major".
Cynical chap, but the thought crossed more than one mind that day. Fifteen minutes of fame (or four days in this case) and all that. His win at North Carolina's Pinehurst No 2 course in 2005 put him in a Kiwi club of two.
Only Sir Bob Charles can appreciate the emotions that ran through Campbell's mind when he clutched his head as his final putt dropped in on the 18th green. Charles won the British Open in 1963.
So 42 years between big drinks (okay, Craig Perks did win what's known as the fifth major, the Players' Championship in 2002, but it doesn't count, it's not one of the Big Four). And given the state of our men's game right now, it's not about to happen again any time soon.
Consistency has never been the Wellingtonian's strongest asset. There are players on the European and US Tours who are known as grinders. As in, they grind away week after week, might not necessarily win often but play consistently well enough to be there or thereabouts when the cheques are handed out.
Not Campbell. His tendency down the years has either been towards the dazzling or the dire, sometimes in the same round. Through it all, he has invariably maintained that he knows his game and has remained optimistic on his chances at whatever event lies ahead.
The Masters starts the major year at Augusta next week. Campbell would have been hoping for a decent final workout at the Houston Open this week. However yesterday dashed all that.
Campbell sunk with his worst round in more than two years, an 8-over 80 to finish the first round tied last, sorry 141st with Ted Purdy.
Ted who? Exactly. Major winners rarely sit at the tail of the field with no-names. But if you shoot three double bogeys, five bogeys, that's what happens. Campbell also nailed three birdies (see four paragraphs above).
Houston was supposed to be a positive change for Campbell. He usually takes the week off ahead of a major. This time, because in his six previous trips to Augusta he's been packing his bags after the second round, he tried a different approach.
This was his sixth event in the last three months so he's hardly been overworking himself. His best result was equal 27th at the Qatar Masters in January. He is ranked No 38 in the world. In bare numbers, that's pretty good, but then you remember he was No 15 in October, 2005.
Campbell is capable of brilliance, and no one can ever take his week in North Carolina away from him. But golf demands of its best players at least a measure of consistency on top of that. Even the finest occasionally miss the cut. Even You Know Who missed it at last year's US Open. Then again, it was soon after his father's death and he had made the cut in his previous 39 majors.
Right now, on his past form, you wouldn't know what to expect from Campbell at Augusta. Then again, you can probably hazard a decent guess.
* When Jamaica hosted the world netball championships in 2003, they did a smart thing.
Ticket prices were kept low, the organisers knowing if they wanted bums on seats, and a top atmosphere - and with the Jamaican economy in a dodgy state - they had little choice. The result: a big hit.
A pity the International Cricket Council don't have their heads screwed on. Crowds at the World Cup have been dismal.
This week, the West Indies played two matches in Antigua and the most memorable image was the banks of empty seating at the Sir Vivian Richards Oval. Prices are up to US$100 ($140) in some cases. The lowest are about $35, still steep in local terms.
How the ICC expect the locals to fork out those sums is unfathomable. Why they expect it is not. Greed. They've already locked up their cash from TV rights. They don't care. The pity is that, as always, it is the fans wanting to cherish a once-in-a-lifetime experience who miss out. The ICC deserve every empty seat they get.
