Golf: Putting problems leave Campbell out of Classic

Michael Campbell

PERTH - Michael Campbell ended his love affair with the Vines Resort course after crashing out of the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth.

The reigning US Open champion carded a second round 74 to end the tri-sanctioned event with a two over par tally -- four strokes shy of the two-under par halfway cut.

Included in Campbell's disappointing display was a triple-bogey at the par five, sixth hole, along with three other bogeys.

Campbell had commenced the second round at level par, eight strokes adrift of the leading duo of American Kevin Stadler and Australia's Adam Scott.

Despite a third hole birdie, Campbell began struggling with the putter to eventually reach the turn in three over par for the tournament.

He birdied the 10th but dropped a fourth shot of the round at the 12th hole prior to a 14th hole birdy, which breathed some life into the event he won in 2000.

But Campbell then dropped a further shot at the 16th before walking off with a final hole birdie, but with 34 putts against his name -- two more than Thursday's round.

Campbell returned to the Vines earlier in the week as a back-to-back Heineken Classic winning hero, and despite the Johnnie Walker Classic organiser adopting a different front nine to that which Campbell won in 2000 and 2001, he was confident of drawing on those victory memories.

"It was a strange last two days and I played great the first five holes today but then had a bad tee shot at the sixth, and walked off with an eight," he said.

"It's not a good start to the season and I am not too stressed. I will put this behind me even though it was a very strange start to the season.

"I am not going to loose any sleep over this and, I guess, after all the fond memories I have of the Vines course, it is not the way I would have wished to leave.

"It is a big of hiccup in my preparations for the year but then it is just one of those things that happens in golf even though I am disappointed I am not going to be here on the weekend.

"The big plus is that I am going home to see my kids."

Campbell, like Retief Goonsen who missed the cut also with a level par tally, said he battled hard to get the pace of the new championship front nine greens that were not in play during Campbell's Heineken Classic wins.

"I just found the pace of the greens hard to fathom and towards the end of the day today, they were very crusty and very, very firm," he said.

Campbell was then headed to nearby Subiaco Oval to watch the season-opening Super-14s clash between the ACT Brumbies and new Western Force.

But then Campbell was catching the "red-eye' flight later on Friday night back to his Sydney residence prior to travelling to Auckland on Thursday in readiness for his expected presentation as the '2005 New Zealand Sportsman of the Year' presentation at Friday night's Halberg Awards.

Korean K J Choi heads the Perth event by two strokes on 13-under par after his second round 66 and leads Stadler on 11-under par.

The Australian trio of Richard Green, Tony Carolan and Scott are next best on nine under par.

Just two of a 10-man starting New Zealand contingent managed to make the halfway cut in the US$2.3 million ($3.43 million) tournament and they are Michael Long and rookie pro Bradley Iles on two under par.

Long made the most of a sponsor's invite to book his place in the closing two rounds with the Perth-based player carding a three under par 69 that included six birdies but also an 11th hole double bogey.

"I haven't played a competitive round of golf for so long, so it's nice to know that I came straight out and make a cut," he said.

"It's also nice that the organisers showed faith in me by granting a sponsor's invite after what I went through in this tournament some years ago.

"A lot of good has come from that moment in 1997 at Hope Island, and I'm hoping now that I can get a lot more good from my golf over the weekend."

Long confirmed he will be contesting next week's Nationwide co-sanctioned Jacob Creeks Open in Adelaide before heading to Christchurch for the following week's New Zealand PGA title.

Iles, who began the event with a score of 68, dropped four shots in four holes early on day two before ending with a 74.

David Smail looked set to join Long and Iles in the last two rounds but dropped four shots in three holes from his 15th to end with a round of 74 and a level par tally.

- NZPA