Golf: Shark hails Campbell's deadly bite

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SYDNEY - Greg Norman has hailed the amazing renaissance of Michael Campbell and described him as "one of the top golfers in the world."

In Sydney for his own tournament at the Lakes later this week, Norman said he was extremely happy about Campbell's remarkable career revival following some "rocky years."

Campbell made it back-to-back wins on the Australasian Tour on Sunday with a scintillating six-shot victory in the Heineken Classic at the Vines in Perth.

It followed his victory in last month's New Zealand Open and the Johnnie Walker Classic in Taiwan late last year, and pushed him to the top of the European and Australasian money lists.

"He [Campbell] had a few rocky years, to say the least," Norman said. "I don't know the reason why he went through those rough times. He is one of the top golfers in the world. He was two years ago and now he's showing the skills that he has had before and we know he's had.

"I'm extremely happy for him. He's a great guy and a great ambassador for the game of golf."

Norman suggested the conditions in Sydney would be more friendly to the European contingent than those they encountered at the Vines.

Asked whom he expected to challenge Campbell this week, Norman replied: "It's totally different conditions. You've got your Europeans who came over straight out of the cold of Europe and straight to Perth and got a bit of a shock to the system.

"They had blisters on their feet and on their hands. They are going to have an extra week of conditioning and the temperature is going to be a little cooler here."

Like the Heineken Classic, Norman's tournament is part of the European tour and he supported that continent's move into Australasia.

Meanwhile, Norman is set to increase his influence on Australian golf by running a second tournament on the Australasian PGA Tour.

Norman's name is attached to two tournaments - this week's Greg Norman International in Sydney and the Shark Shootout two-man team tournament in the United States - and he plans to announce another Australian tournament within the next 10 days. Norman was coy on details but said a deal was close to being finalised.

It has been mooted that Norman would take over the running of the Queensland-based Players Championship, moving it from Royal Queensland to a Norman-designed course.

By linking his own tournament with the European Tour and throwing in an extra $A1 million ($1.3 million), the Greg Norman International, with $A2 million in prizemoney, is the richest tournament in Australia.