A return to the comfort zone

Irish Open: John O'Sullivan talks to Michael Campbell, a man who is hoping to have an all black weekend at Portmarnock.

The most lucrative aspect of Michael Campbell's season to date has been taking a few shekels from Ernie Els but not on the golf course. The New Zealander is a proud supporter of the All Blacks rugby team and a trouncing of South Africa in the opening Tri-Nations game last weekend guaranteed a winning wager of £50 and the bragging rights to boot.

This weekend Campbell will target Australia's Peter O'Malley and the pair may end up watching highlights of the All Blacks taking on the Wallabies together when it's broadcast on Sky Sports tomorrow evening. It could prove an auspicious day if the New Zealander can deliver on the promise of yesterday's opening round, six under the card, 66 at Portmarnock.

The round stands out like a beacon in a season of frustration for Campbell who has come to realise that far away pastures are not necessarily greener. Last November the 34-year-old Kiwi sent a letter to the executive director of the European Tour, Ken Schofield, stating that for his game to develop he felt it necessary to head for America and the US PGA Tour.

On February 23rd of this year, he teed it up in the Nissan Open at the Riviera Club in Los Angeles shooting rounds of 77 and 75 to miss the cut; as a barometer of his exploits Stateside it would prove apposite.

Beaten in the first round of the Accenture World Matchplay championship at La Costa, Campbell withdrew after three holes of the Bay Hill Invitational tournament, three visits to the water on the first hole convinced him to cut his losses and take an early bath.

In the Players Championship, disqualification curtailed his involvement, guilty of signing for an 87 but actually taking 89. He didn't lose his sense of humour, albeit with gallows' overtones when suggesting that "at least I broke 90".

From there he missed six straight cuts, including failure to make the cut at the US Masters and the US Open.

In the 15 rounds he completed in America, Campbell failed to break par once. He had already intimated that he would play a few tournaments in Europe and returned for the Volvo PGA at Wentworth (tied 48th), the Wales Open (tied 65th) and despite languishing tied 71st at the Smurfit European Open, a tournament he won the previous year, he faced a few home truths.

"I had a frustrating five months competing in America. It was a shock to the system and I didn't perform well. I'm obviously a creature of comfort. I won five times in the previous two and a half years in Europe. It is confirmation that I was in comfort zone on the European Tour."

Campbell admitted that his sojourn across the Atlantic had knocked his confidence and that he preferred the relaxed company of familiar faces. "It's far more harmonious competing in Europe compared to the United States." As a result he decided that his future is in Europe and that America can wait for another couple of years.

He worked with his coach Jonathan Yarwood prior to the British Open and the improvement is manifest in his performance yesterday. Campbell opened with a birdie on the 10th, hitting a drive and lob wedge to 18 feet and holing the putt. A velvet touch on the greens underpinned the New Zealander's round.

"I was feeling confident and the putter felt good in my hands. It's nice to get off to a good start for a change."

Conditions were relatively benign, but Campbell's three ball, that included overnight leader Thomas Bjorn (eight under) and Padraig Harrington (three under), was replete with excellent golf.

Campbell enthused: "I was being towed along in his (Bjorn's) slipstream. He played great, putted so well and is obviously oozing confidence from last week. When you are on a crest of a wave of confidence you ride it for a while until you drop off.

"Thomas and I were playing pretty well. It was a good threesome - golf being one of the few occasions you can admit to that in public," he laughs.

Campbell's affinity for golf in Ireland and why he performs so well here - he won the 2002 Smurfit European Open - was summed up as thus: "Don't know, must be all the Guinness."

It's perhaps a little early to pronounce the season long slump over but Campbell's golf yesterday was a better representation of his ability. The priority now is for such excellence not to be an aberration.

He confirmed that he will link up again with motivational guru Jos Vanstiphout, prior to the US PGA Championship next month but for now he will be hoping for a double celebration this weekend: a Nissan Irish Open victory complemented by an All Blacks win.

Throw in the Guinness and it really would be an "all black" weekend.