Golf: Campbell makes calamitous return

Kiwi golfer Michael Campbell. Photo / Getty Images

After taking a year away from the game to recover from various injuries, Campbell returned to the fairways this week at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on the European Tour but withdrew after nine holes of the opening round yesterday.

The former US Open champion was six over through nine when he retired and it remains to be seen what this means for his career.

At 45, Campbell is still a few years away from being able to join the 50-and-over seniors tour, where players still earn a good living. He has a lifetime exemption on the European Tour courtesy of his eight wins on the circuit between 1999 and 2005.

Things have unravelled for Campbell during the past two years and his world ranking has plummeted to 1434. He also skipped last year's US Open after he split with his wife, Julie.

Campbell, who is based in Spain, told Sports Illustrated in an interview last year that he wanted to keep playing competitive golf.

"I'm not quitting - competition is my passion. I love kissing a trophy at the end of the week, but 20 years of playing this game at the highest level takes its toll, physically and mentally," he said.

After a woeful run from 2009-2011 where he missed more cuts than he would care to remember, Campbell returned to form in 2012 as he banked nearly $500,000 on tour. His highlight was a third-place finish at the Portugal Masters, while he also claimed a share of eighth at the season-ending Hong Kong Open.

After he finished in a tie for 30th at the BMW Masters in China in late 2012, Campbell told the Herald that he felt he was on the comeback trail after realigning with his coach.

"Inside of me, I just know that I'm not a quitter. I don't quit, simple as that. I've worked very hard and I knew it was still in there somewhere but needed to be peeled back, like an onion. There are lots of layers there and I've finally found something that's working. A combination of my coach and just everything."

Campbell's competitive nature means he may not give the game away but it's hard to see the former World Match Play Championship winner contending for titles again.