Peter Williams: Practise time key for Cambo

Michael Campbell learned 10 years ago that international stardom is not that easy to manage. The new US Open champion admitted in the wake of his stunning win at Pinehurst that, after bursting onto the world stage with that third place finish at the British Open in 2005, he simply got too greedy.

There were invitations to play all over the world and he accepted virtually all of them. He played eight tournaments in eight weeks in seven countries at the end of 1995. Then he hurt his overworked wrist so badly at the New Zealand Open, he couldn't even hold a pen or a fork for two months. The injury led to a dreadful slump in form, from which he only emerged four years later.

But having found out the hard way how difficult it can be meeting the expectations of being a hot golfing star, Michael should now be better prepared for the demanding times ahead. There will be invitations to tournaments and exhibition matches from all over the world, with six figure appearance fees. The million dollars he won at Pinehurst will be the catalyst for millions more.

The most important thing is for Michael to retain his playing credibility and not fall victim to what Wayne Grady calls "the fat wallet syndrome". Grady knows all about the condition. The Queenslander won the 1990 PGA Championship in Alabama but struggled to reach the same heights again.

Rich Beem won the PGA Championship in 2002. He hasn't won a tournament since, has had just two top-10 finishes in three years and his world ranking is 249th. The man who took the PGA title the following year, Shaun Micheel, has been just as anonymous. Since August 2003, he's had one top 10, is 153rd on the PGA Tour money list and is ranked 149th in the world.

Three of the last four winners at the British Open have fared even worse. David Duval's fall from grace has been well documented but at least he'd been the world's best player before he won at Royal Lytham. However, he hasn't won a tournament since. Ben Curtis, who produced one of the biggest upsets ever with his victory in 2003, has returned to the anonymity from whence he came. Curtis is 223rd on the PGA Tour money list this year with only $22,000.

Todd Hamilton is in the world's top 50 but that's as a consequence of his win in the Open last year. Since then he's played 24 tournaments and had one top-10 finish.

The game abounds in such stories but they are tales that Michael Campbell needs to be very aware of as he enjoys the fruits of a wonderful major championship victory.

Grady once told me the real problem is practice time. When he was working to make the major championship breakthrough, he'd be on the range pretty much uninterrupted. He could hit balls for hours each day because there were virtually no other commitments. Ironically, as soon as a major championship is won, time on the range becomes a precious commodity because of the hours and days spent travelling to fulfil the lucrative deals on offer.

Michael Campbell has talked often this past week about "how all the hard work of the last few years has paid off". My wish now is that he can make enough time to keep doing that hard work. If he can, he's good enough to reach the fabulous heights of Pinehurst again.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY