Michael Campbell winning the 105th US Open at Pinehurst No 2 course in North Carolina on June 20, 2005. Photo / Gary Brittain/ Icon SMI
Twenty years is a long time in life, and it’s even longer in sport. For Michael Campbell, the boy from Tītahi Bay who dared to be different, 2005 may as well have been yesterday.
“I can remember every type of shot, where it finished, what putt I had, it was just one of those things I wanted to capture forever in my mind,” Campbell says as he relives his US Open victory, one of New Zealand’s greatest sporting memories, in an exclusive interview with the Herald.
“Yeah, 20 years is a long time, isn’t it? I mean, I’ve done a lot since then. I still remember, obviously, you know, the last round. I can’t remember what I had for breakfast this morning, but I can remember every single shot in the last round of the US Open because such a huge moment in my life and my career.”
Campbell emerged from four rounds at the revered Pinehurst No 2 course in North Carolina atop a leaderboard that featured South African legends Retief Goosen and Ernie Els, Spaniard Sergio Garcia, Fijian fan-favourite Vijay Singh and the often-unbeatable Tiger Woods.
More remarkable still was that he was the only one in the field to play 72 holes that week at even par, with Woods finishing second at two-over.
“It’s one of those things that you’ll never forget, and especially, you know, being hunted down by Tiger in his prime to me was even more so fulfilling as a player to beat him. It still gives me a buzz, still gives me goosebumps.
“I’m constantly reminded, pretty much weekly, about my success 20 years ago because people bring it up, my friends and and on social media and that sort of stuff.
“To be mentioned in the same sentence as the other US Open winners is a huge, huge thing for me as a New Zealander, as a Māori, and to be the first Māori to win a major is something I’ll never forget.”
For the American audience, Campbell’s win might have come from complete obscurity, but Kiwi golf fans and Campbell himself recall he had come close to a major title previously, narrowly missing a playoff for the 1995 Open Championship, eventually won by John Daly.
Campbell says it was the knowledge that he was good enough to compete with the best in the world that aided his mental fortitude down the stretch at Pinehurst with Woods breathing down his neck.
“It was almost like slow motion, you know? ... I was in control of my emotions, which is the biggest part of the deal really, because I knew I was good enough to play golf.
“But when you had that mental fortitude [it’s] the most important thing when it comes to situational scenarios when you’re facing the best player in the world in a major championship.”
Woods, who was winning nearly one tournament in four at his peak, made his characteristic charge on the final day. Campbell says it was not only lifting the trophy but realising he’d bested one of the greats of the game that had stuck with him for 20 years.
“Tiger at his best was like 25% [win rate]. In golf, especially, we fail more times than we succeed. It’s a hard sport to play because you’re by yourself. You’ve got no teammates around you to support you if you have a bad day. It’s a true reflection on your performance that day ...”
But realising what he achieved took some time. In the whirlwind days and weeks that followed his victory, he had little time to reflect on what it meant to lift a major championship and the impact it had back home.
“I think I came home probably a month after I won. I said to my management group at the time, I’d love to go home and share my success with my people, and they looked at me thinking, ‘Are you crazy? There’s no time, you’ve got no time, Michael.’
“I was purely just wanting to inspire these young kids back home, you know, we can play golf too ... If I can do it, you can do it.”
A parade down Lambton Quay was arranged and, when he spoke to one of the organisers, he realised the magnitude of his achievement.
“He’s been around for a long time doing these sort of things. I said to him, I can’t remember his name, but he’s such a lovely guy. He goes, ‘I’ve done plenty of these, you know, over the years.’ I said, ‘So is it one of your biggest ones?’ He goes, ‘Second biggest.’
“I said, ‘Well, who was the first?’ And he goes, ‘Oh, the Beatles.’ So I thought, okay, I can take that. Second to the Beatles is not bad.”
The lasting impact of Campbell’s US Open victory is still felt, with the kids who watched him on television now grown up. He has one wish that he hopes has come true: that he has inspired someone to fulfil their dreams.
Campbell’s story is about to feature in the documentary Dare To Be Different, to be shown on Sky Sports in July.
He recalls that the early days at Tītahi Golf Club in Porirua weren’t easy. As Campbell says, golf wasn’t a game for Māori in the 1970s and 80s.
“My dream was to be an All Black. I wasn’t good enough, big enough, strong enough, so I thought I’d give golf a go.
“You know when people say, ‘What’s your why?’ My why was to prove to people that Māori can play golf too.
“Growing up in the late 70s and early 80s, playing golf was tough for me. I’m going to say it, it was a white man’s sport. Simple as that.
“So I broke a lot of barriers, and that’s why I think the doco is going to be fantastic, all the barriers I had to face. I had to be different and figure outside the box. That’s what I went and did.”
During filming for the documentary, Campbell made his first trip to Pinehurst since 2005 and was surprised by the reception he received from three of the biggest names in golf.
“Walking around with some of the players, who I’d never met before because I retired before they came onto the scene, like Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, all these young kids come up to me and talked to me about the victory, so that was an awesome experience to get that feedback from the best players now.”
To have three major winners - including Scheffler, the current world No 1 - congratulate him and remind him of his win was a humbling experience, he says.
He hopes the documentary will go some way to showing people that, if you dare to be different, you can dream.
“Hopefully, this will get across in the documentary that anything’s possible if you want to apply yourself. That’s why I stuck around. I mean, people give up after five years, two years, 10 years, but I knew a big major win was around the corner, so that’s why I stuck around and just worked even harder.”
