Wind helps Campbell to record distance

It was, in a sense, Michael Campbell's haka. The New Zealand Maori produced a spear-waving, chest-beating 63 in the first round of the English Open yesterday, laying down a challenge to the rest of the field: beat me now if you can.

Campbell's nine-under-par round created a new PGA European tour record - no one has led a European event by six shots after the first round.

The previous best was five, by Ernie Els who went on to win the Dubai Desert Classic in 1994, and by Severiano Ballesteros, who managed not to win the 1991 Spanish Open.

On a day when the wind gusted to 30 miles per hour, when fewer than 20 of the 156-man entry broke par, Campbell massacred the field.

Lee Westwood, one of five players grouped in second place on three under, said he had played well and added that he thought level par, 72, would be a good score in the conditions.

Another, Peter Mitchell, was so pleased to be in at three under that he said: "I hope I keep playing like that for the rest of my life."

While yet another, Benoit Teilleria, a graduate from the Challenge tour, said simply: "I played perfect."

Colin Montgomerie, winner twice in what for him was a very merry month of May, heaped praise on Campbell.

"That was one of the rounds of the year - if not years," he said of the 63.

Campbell, then, was exceptional. It was the best score, statistically, of his life, although he confessed he had experienced better ball-striking rounds.

Yesterday he chipped in at one hole and had only 26 putts, that latter statistic showing that he was only just below his putts-per-round average for the season of 28.6, the best on tour.

The New Zealander was using the controversial Callaway driver, the ERC, and said: "It has given me at least 10-15 yards on every tee shot."

But Campbell will shortly face a driver dilemma. On Wednesday afternoon he was given an exemption into the US Open at Pebble Beach in two weeks' time - and the ERC is banned in America.

Campbell was a member of the victorious New Zealand Eisenhower Trophy team of 1992.

They claimed that World Amateur Team Championship after running the United States ragged in the final round.

In the US team that year were Justin Leonard, David Duval, Jay Sigel and Allan Doyle, all since successes as professionals.

Campbell flickered briefly in the 1995 Open championship, eventually finishing third, and then subsiding into anonymity.

But in the winter months he once again found the spark that had ignited his earlier talent, he has won four times since November 1999 and now faces one of the hardest tasks of all in golf: to play 54 holes knowing that you are expected to win. It will be worth a haka if he does.