KEY POINTS:
Golfer Michael Campbell says a plan to play closer to home in 2008 is behind his decision to play his first New Zealand PGA Championship in February.
Former United States Open champion Campbell will tee it up at Christchurch's Clearwater golf course, saying the tournament fitted his planned
schedule.
"This year I've decided to stay around home a little bit more, and play more in Asia - scheduling's very very important to me, that's part of the reason why I'm playing," he told Radio Sport today.
Campbell said he was enjoying being home for once, after a torrid year in which his world ranking has fallen to 163. It has been two years since he tasted victory.
"It's all confidence," he said.
"Right now I'm not very confident off the tee...I'm not too focused on driving the ball well. I know I've got to work harder."
Campbell missed the cut at the New Zealand Open in Queenstown last week, leaving the course without speaking to journalists.
He pointed out he had missed several cuts prior to winning the 2005 US Open.
"That's the way I am now - I go out there and I win tournaments, or I miss cuts. I missed five cuts in a row and I won the US Open, so there you go.
"I've got to be very very patient, still believe in myself...confidence is a thing that is really suffering at the moment.
"I know I still have the ability to win golf tournaments, to win majors, it's just a matter of being very, very patient."
Campbell said the HSBC-sponsored PGA Championship was "one of the two great events on the New Zealand calendar".
"While I have been able to play in the New Zealand Open every year, other commitments have stopped me coming to Clearwater."
He has not played in Christchurch since he was an amateur.
Campbell has a fond association with HSBC-sponsored events having won the 2005 HSBC World Matchplay title and tying for third at the 2006 HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
Clearwater is part of the Australasian PGA Tour and the second-tier US PGA Nationwide Tour.
The Michael Campbell Foundation, which works with young people and helps promote golf in New Zealand, will benefit from support from HSBC and the HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship.
The winner of the New Zealand PGA Championship gains automatic entry into the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai.
- NZPA