Cooking and kids now C
Andrew Alderson
in Queenstown When Michael Campbell strolls through Millbrook Resort at the ISPS Handa New Zealand Golf Open, people pause, stare and grin.
It’s like the memories of June 19, 2005, flood back when the recognition sinks in.
That was the day — or more accurately June 20 New Zealand time — when Kiwi sports fans crowded around television sets and lived the dream with him at Pinehurst No 2 in North Carolina, where Campbell sank a two-foot putt on the 18th green to finish at even par and win the US Open.
He became the second New Zealander after Sir Bob Charles to experience victory at a major.
The wave of relief washed over Campbell as he pulled his cap down, grasped his caddy and expelled sobs of joy.
Almost 13 years on, he cuts a relaxed figure speaking to the Herald — and anyone else who wants to pass the time of day — ahead of commentating this week’s New Zealand Open with fellow pros Greg Turner and Phil Tataurangi.
Campbell turned 49 last week. A torn tendon in his left foot kept him out of his home tournament, but he hopes to play the European senior circuit in 2019 when he reaches 50, the minimum age for eligibility.
Retirement has allowed him to spend more time with sons Thomas, 19, and Jordan, 17.
“One’s finishing school in Spain, and one’s starting civil engineering at university in Sydney.
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