Golf: The question is can Campbell still cut it?

Michael Campbell's exit from the US PGA championship once again throws into question the future for New Zealand's premier golfer - as does his decision to quit his base in Brighton in favour of living full-time in Sydney.

Campbell hit an 80 and a 79 to miss the cut in the final major of the year, underlining his worst season ever as a leading player.

Officially, Campbell has been bothered by back and shoulder injuries. They were often the reason given when Campbell missed the cut - as he has done in all but one tournament this year - and for his retirement in the British Open last month.

However, things had seemed a bit brighter in recent times. He hit a 69 in the first round of the Scottish Open last month (although his second round 75 meant he still missed the cut). At the SAS Masters in Sweden, just before the PGA, Campbell made his one and only cut of the year, including a sub-par round, one of only two he has hit all year.

But the PGA championship at Hazeltine saw a return to poor form. His 79 yesterday meant he was tied for 143rd in the field, 23 shots behind the leader after two rounds. The shoulder injury had finally seemed to clear up and there was no mention of it prior to his first-round 80, eight over par.

His results this year make for sorry reading and, up until the PGA championship, he has earned just €11,261 ($23,702) for his year's work.

That is a long way from the €2.5 million he won in his stellar 2005 season and his earnings have been steadily trending down since then - €785,000 in 2006, €590,000 in 2007 and €430,000 last year. He is now ranked 268th in the world and, unless he can get into the top 125 on the US PGA Tour, he will not be able to play tournaments there.

That will not likely bother him much as, apart from his win at the 2005 US Open, followed by the world matchplay champs victory (catapulting him into the top reaches of the world's golfers), all his wins as a professional have come on the European tour.

Which makes his decision to quit his Brighton house interesting. Campbell has told interviewers he has "five or six" more years in him as a pro and, in talking to Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper said of his decision to sell his £2.75 million house in Sussex: "My busiest period is from April to October so it makes sense to settle on the other side of the world where we will have sunnier weather during my slow time."

The only problem with that reasoning is that it has always been the case - and Campbell has chosen to base himself in the UK. He and wife Julie have also had a house in Sydney since 2006, when they paid about A$9 million for a residence there with tennis court, swimming pool and a prime beach location.

That's where they will now base themselves. Campbell is perfectly capable of flying off to Europe for the PGA tour there (although he'll want to be earning more than €11,000) but it is not known if his decision to live in Sydney could signal the beginning of a longer-term future with less involvement in the Northern Hemisphere.

His exemption to play in the majors - anyone who wins a major tournament gets automatic entry to all four majors for five years - expires next year so Campbell's presence in the top tier of golf will be over unless he can effect a remarkable return to form.