Campbell’s stunning comeback from nowhere

"Finally I’m on the front page instead of the All Blacks." - Michael Campbell after his US Open victory. Picture / Reuters

He has gone from oblivion to the top of the golfing world.

Michael Campbell's stunning win at the US Open has changed his life and left the golfing world gasping as it watched the sport's most prestigious title go to a man it had written off as an also-ran.

Campbell won NZ$1.65 million at the tournament, lifting his tournament earnings to more than $18 million. With his value increased by his ice-cool final round, he can expect his bank balance to rise. American fans are already lining up to buy his polo shirts.

Campbell had arrived at Pinehurst in North Carolina ranked 80th in the world, slipping in under the radar.

One paper, the Chicago Tribune, had lumped him dismissively in with a bunch of no-hopers as "a guy who was born in New Zealand into a Maori tribe ... who has missed the US Open cut four years in a row".

Instead, Campbell astonished observers and delighted New Zealand from the Prime Minister down - Cabinet was delayed and around the country Kiwis gathered in front of television sets to watch the Hawera-born boy fend off Tiger Woods and fulfil a childhood dream that began on the greens of two tiny clubs, Patea and Titahi Bay.

They saw Campbell fire a closing-round one-under-par 69 on the notoriously difficult course to match the effort of Woods. That gave him an even-par 280, two strokes clear of his rival.

The win is one of New Zealand's greatest sporting achievements and a personal triumph for Campbell.

A decade ago he was a rising star but his fluctuating form since turning professional made his career an emotional rollercoaster ride. His stocks were slow low at one stage that he even considered quitting the game.

The 36-year-old became the second New Zealander to win a major. Sir Bob Charles, who won the British Open 42 years ago, was in Florida watching on television as Campbell joined the select club.

For Campbell, the joy was evident in his tears.

"It's been a journey, my career. I was thinking about people back home in New Zealand, and my wife, Julie, who is in England right now, and my two boys, Thomas and Jordan, because they couldn't be with me right now," he said.

" ... all my relatives back home watching me, all the people back home watching me, I could feel that. I could feel them - how proud they were of me. And that started me off."

Gripping the trophy, Campbell savoured the moment: "Finally I'm on the front page instead of the All Blacks."

- AGENCIES