KEY POINTS:
MUNICH - New Zealand golfer Michael Campbell has dismissed his critics, saying he is not about to bow to calls for him to retire.
"The message I want everyone to know is that I am not ready to throw in the towel.
"I've never been a quitter," Campbell
said.
Since his US Open win in 2005, Campbell has suffered a dramatic loss in form and dropped from the top 20 to his current world ranking of 351.
Campbell, competing this week in the BMW International Open in Munich said: "It's this `Tall Poppy Syndrome' we have in New Zealand.
"It's the same with the All Blacks because if they lose you get people declaring: "That's it', and demanding (coach) Graham Henry's head on a platter.
"I'm the first to admit that my career has been a career of peaks and troughs.
"Who's to say I can't win again because if I didn't think I couldn't win again, I wouldn't tee it up on a Thursday."
Campbell said not playing all four days was hurting him and was very frustrating.
" But there's one thing I know - at times like this you find out who your true friends and fans are, particularly by the nature of the emails I've been getting sent to my website.
"Many of them are pretty negative... . far from flattering and that hurts.
"(But) I'm still receiving plenty of positive messages and they easily outweigh the all those negative notes."
Rocco Mediate's battle with Tiger Woods for the US Open title was an example of what could happen in golf, he said.
"At 45, Rocco nearly became the oldest-ever US Open champion. I'm 39 so I have another five to six years of golf ahead of me.
"So I just laugh at those who think I should chuck it all in because they just don't understand how fickle this game of golf is."
Campbell shot a first round 72 that included three birdies and three bogeys to be six shots off the lead today.
"It's a good start and I am happy with that and I know I can build on it over the next three days."
Gareth Paddison is the leading New Zealander, firing a two-under par 70 that included a chip-in eagle.
Mark Brown, competing in Germany for the first time, joined Campbell in signing off for a 72.
There is a five-way tie at the top of the leaderboard with Rafael Echenique (Argentina), Anton Haig (South Africa), Mardan Mamat (Singapore) and Peter O'Malley (Australia) all scoring 66.
- NZPA
