Golf: I've got my hunger back, says Cambo

Michael Campbell is looking upward again after years in the doldrums. Photo / Martin Sykes

So Cambo and Sir Steve were in a car late last year, just riffing about life and sport in general on the 45-minute drive between those venerable Scottish links, Carnoustie and St Andrews.

Somewhere over the Tay, Cambo makes a confession. To paraphrase: "Steve, when I won the US Open, for me that was like reaching the top of Mt Everest. I can't go any higher."

Sir Steve pondered on this meditation for a second or two before replying: "The next time you want to climb Everest, try doing it without oxygen."

It was, as they say, a "lightbulb" moment.

THOUSANDS OF kilometres away from Augusta National's perfectly manicured fairways and undulating greens, where South African Charl Schwartzel was making his frenetic late bid for golfing immortality, Michael Campbell was at home in Sydney.

His five-year exemption to the majors for winning the 2005 US Open at Pinehurst expired last year. Still, he had Georgia on his mind.

"I made myself watch the Masters to get my hunger back. It's not until it's not there for you that you realise how much you miss it."

Which is why the chat with Sir Steve Redgrave, winner of rowing gold medals at five Olympic Games, hit home so hard.

"His was a very clever reply. That little talk was wonderful for me," Campbell says. "It got me going again. It made me think that at the age of 42, I could come back."

Redgrave was 38 when he won his fifth gold in a far more physically taxing sport.

His comeback is slowly starting to gather pace, though, it has to be said, we've been here before in recent years.

One of life's amateur philosophers, Campbell likens it to a snowball effect. You either roll it down the hill and watch it get bigger and bigger, "or you leave it in the sun and watch it melt".

It's a none-too-subtle reference to the post-'05 "lost" years and, tellingly, Campbell's assessment is frank.

"Having a comfort zone, a 10-year exemption [on the European Tour], meant I did get lazy. There were long periods when I didn't work hard enough on my game or myself. There were times I didn't go to the gym at all."

His fitness would plummet, he'd get injured, he'd come back too early, his scores would blow out, he'd lose confidence in his swing, he'd get injured. It was an insidious cycle of woe, one Campbell can see as clear as daylight now.

"You'd think after 20 years as a professional I would have learned something," Campbell laments.

ON THE other hand, the very thing that makes Campbell such a fascinating sporting and character study is the "yo-yo" effect.

He would not be anywhere near as interesting if he had compiled an ultra-consistent, Steve Stricker-type of career.

Since announcing himself to New Zealand as part of the winning quartet at the 1992 Eisenhower Trophy, Campbell has been in the Mariana Trench as often as he has scaled golf's Himalayas.

His highs have been fleeting and sublime - US Open winner, World Matchplay champion, 15-time professional tournament winner - and his lows have been ridiculous.

He has missed the cut at golf's four major championships (28) far more often than he has played the weekend (19). He might has regained his hunger while watching the Masters but it doesn't alter the fact that, after 10 attempts, he still doesn't know what it feels like to tee up on a Saturday.

"I've been through peaks and troughs many times. I'm used to it," Campbell says. "Having said that, it's frustrating for me, my friends and my family. It kills me when I'm not playing well."

Campbell has turned more corners than Michael Schumacher, so it would be premature to start talking too loudly about a return to Everest, but to stretch the analogy, at least he's back at base camp.

After 10 years with the highly respected Jonathan Yarwood, he has a new coach in Gary Edwin. They met on the practice range after the first round of the Australian Masters and, during their first session together, Edwin had him change three things.

"I thought, 'Wow, this is what I used to do before'," Campbell said. "We were on the same wavelength straight away."

Campbell also has a full-time trainer with him. As he said before, he can veer towards lazy if he's not being challenged.

"I've been playing pain-free since November, the first time I've done that for a long time."

Also taking the pressure off is the fact his children, Jordan and Thomas, are both settled at school in Sydney and his family are no longer out on tour with him.

While it's tough to be away - scheduling is now done far more stringently - a routine home life has taken some of the stress out of his professional life.

Campbell believes he still has time on his side.

He's excited by the longevity his sport offers him and having watched Jim Furyk win the FedEx Cup last year, he knows being on the high side of 40 is no barrier to a decent pay cheque.

But the thing that most convinces Campbell his game is on the upswing, was the fact that in Morocco this month he was at the top of the leaderboard.

He ended in a share of 19th and took home $30,120, his second payday of the season. Small beer for a player who has amassed more than $21 million. But he says, "It was just nice to see my name up in lights again."