BACK AT BELL BAY
Well-travelled golfer Peter Campbell making professional debut on his home course this week
Peter Campbell making pro debut at Cape Breton Open
During his career, Peter Campbell has competed on golf courses across the world in places like Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica, Portugal and Morocco.
So it may seem a bit surprising that the Baddeck native will finally make his professional debut on the course he grew up playing when Bell Bay hosts the Mackenzie Tour’s Cape Breton Open this week.
“I’m definitely excited to be home this week and to be able to play in front of friends and family,” said Campbell, 34, who has played primarily on PGA Tour Latin America over the past two seasons.
“I’ve got a pretty good comfort level here so hopefully that turns into some good scores.”
Campbell, who now lives in Windermere, Fla., just outside Orlando, with his wife Jeanne, daughter Alli, 5, and son Xander, 2, is very familiar with the Bell Bay layout after playing about 70 rounds there each season for nine years before he took his clubs to the U.S. to play college golf for Southern Wesleyan University in South Carolina.
After competing in smaller events throughout the southern U.S., he joined PGA Canada’s Mackenzie Tour, notching three top-10 finishes (including a career-best tie for second at the 2014 National Capital Open to Support Our Troops) in 36 career starts before switching to the Latin America tour.
While he enjoyed his best season last year with five top10s and finished 44th on the Order of Merit, Campbell said this year has been “a bit of a struggle.”
“I just haven’t really gotten off to any decent starts and kind of suffered through some injuries but I feel like my health is getting back to 100 per cent and luckily I still have half the year left, so there’s lots to look forward to.”
He’ll look to start turning things around Thursday when the field of 144 golfers tees off at the 7,037-yard Baddeck layout to compete for a share of a $175,000 purse that includes a $31,500 winner’s prize.
“I’m just trying to put it all together right now and have four good rounds,” said Campbell, who, along with fellow Baddeck native Trevor Chow, is one of eight sponsor exemptions at the tournament, which was called the Keltic Classic when it was held at The Lakes Golf Club in Ben Eoin from 2013-15 until it moved to Baddeck last year.
And the course won’t be the only thing that’s familiar. In addition to plenty of family and friends watching in the gallery, his sister Hailee Currie is travelling from P.E.I. to caddy for him and his father Sandy is executive director of the tournament.
“It’s definitely a family affair for sure,” he said.
For more information on the tournament, visit capebretonopen.com, or follow the event on Twitter @CapeBretonOpen.