MEDINAH, Illinois - New Zealand No 1 Michael Campbell feels he's in the running to win a second major golf title at the US PGA golf championship beginning here tomorrow (NZ time) -- just as long as he doesn't try too hard.
Fourteen months after his breakthrough major win at
the US Open, Campbell feels he has found the key to living up the high expectations he has set for himself.
"It's been a rocky road since I won last year, but I've got my mindset sorted out, I think."
Campbell said he had been putting too much pressure on himself in the past 12 months to win another major, adding that, as a winner of a major, it had "taken time to get used to the different environment, different expectations form the media, from myself, from the public".
He scored another big win at last October's World Match Play Championship, his last tour victory, and then took several weeks off.
The experiment did not work.
"I broke up the pattern or the momentum a little bit, which is probably the wrong thing to do.
"I wanted to keep on playing through January and February but my mind and my body wouldn't let me.
"I just told myself to take some time off and play less.
"So it hasn't worked out this year so far, but the game of golf can change quickly and I could have a good week this week and win my second major."
Campbell has had a couple of practice rounds on the Medinah course and likes what he sees.
"Everything about it is fantastic, I have no complaints" Campbell said.
"The greens are a little bit soft for a major championship, but come the weekend I'm sure they will be pretty firm.
"The length is very, very fair although I understand it is the longest major championship course we have ever played.
"It's going to benefit the longer hitters, but also the straight hitters too because the rough is very penalising."
- NZPA
