home

jobs

	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

HSBC WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

September 18, 2005

Michael Campbell

SURREY, ENGLAND

GORDON SIMPSON: U.S. Open Champion, HSBC World Match Play Champion, a million quid in the back pocket, how do you reflect on 2005 so far?

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: So far obviously very pleased. (Laughter).

GORDON SIMPSON: I suspect that is an understatement. Could you have imagined going into June what was going to happen in the subsequent four months?

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: Yeah. (Laughing).

GORDON SIMPSON: Why?

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: I just think, I've said many a times before in other conferences, press conferences, that I worked on a different aspect of my life, not just golf, and people think that you work on golf, golf, golf. But there's other things that make you tick as a person. There are other things in this world that makes you feel better about yourself.

There's a big universe out there and I worked on a lot of things outside golf. That's the bottom line. I'm not going to tell you any more about it, but it's personal, and, yeah, I've worked on certain things and changed my whole routine around, changed my psychologist, I changed my fitness trainer, I changed my way that myself and Jonathan work together now; I've employed him full time. All of these aspects are very important for me to succeed this year.

At the start of the year, I missed five cuts in a row. I didn't panic at all. I didn't push the panic button not once because I knew it was going to work. It was just a matter of time. I changed management groups, I changed a lot of things around me. I've got IMG doing a great job and supporting me and directing me in the right path.

Right now I've got a great rhythm going, or great formula going right now, and I keep on doing the same old things every morning, every morning, every night, the head stands. Just one of those things I've got to do in life. You've got to have a constant theme or a constant mindset, and if you do that, it's going to help you enhance in your performances. Today was a prime example. The week before I played pretty averagely, I finished I think 30th or whatever it was in the German Masters, but once again, I was very close to playing well again. Then Goosey won and over took me in the Order of Merit, I'm not sure

GORDON SIMPSON: You're No. 1.

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: That's one of my goals this week was to regain my No. 1 spot on the Order of Merit. I think I only have two tournaments left, the American Express and the Volvo Masters to play in, and that's it, I'm done for the year.

So, this was a big week for me. I knew I had to play well to beat them, to beat a lot of good players. Goosey and obviously Paul today, Paul is a real hard man to knock over. He hung in there, 15 and 16, kind of sealed my championship for me.

It's been a wonderful year so far. It's been an incredible last four months, really.

Q. Would you have pointed out that you had to do something?

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: Myself, I think. My wife and myself, we found things down there that wasn't good. That's it, guys. Don't even try. Don't even go there. (Laughter). You get nothing, nada, okay, nada.

Q. Paul thought the 12th hole was the turning point.

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: That was a huge turnaround, I saw where he was on the second shot into the bunker on 12, and I pulled my 4 iron 220 yards and it was literally a foot from out of bounds, and luckily enough, I hit had a good angle to get at, my chip. Another foot and I was in, so that could have been a two hole swing there.

But, look, it was very tense and a great tussle today with Paul. He's a wonderful iron player and a great putter. He had lots of chances and opportunities for birdies out there today, lots of times out there, and fortunately enough it went my way and that's the bottom line. It could have gone Paul's way, easily. It was like a knife edge, really; could have gone either way.

Q. What about 36 holes a day? You both looked tired?

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: I think it really brings out, the cream rises to the top definitely, but it brings a different aspects of the game to fitness; whereas previous times, the previous winners it didn't matter. I know that Ernie won six times. He's really a fit guy, but he didn't play the first round. So he had a huge advantage being defending champion and No. 1 seed. I think four guys didn't play the first round, and so that's like 36 holes of like a rest day. Whereas the guys qualify a little lower have to go out and play the full I think I played 170 holes this week in the space of four rounds. That's over four days, five days six days, whatever.

So, you know, I think it's a format we need to keep, I think it's a format that keeps a lot of players away. They have the other match play event which is only 18 holes, and there's always been talk about every time a good player loses in like a shootout over 18 holes, they complain. Players complain. But they are playing 18 holes, not 36 holes. Then you come over here and play 36 holes, they complain that it's too long. So no one is a winner here.

I prefer this format definitely compared to the World Match Play. Tiger has been knocked out by a lesser player so many times now. A lot of the top seeds get knocked out by lesser players. And then the TV ratings go down because Tiger is not playing, so you can't please everybody out here. I always feel that this is one tournament that should be highly recognized by a lot of players. It's got the history of 30 odd years. It's got some wonderful champions on this trophy. The history behind it, and we have great champions, and playing for a million pounds. All of that equates to a wonderful golf tournament in my mind, but not in others. So that's my opinion.

Q. You said you couldn't believe how much

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: I think having a very good time with my coach who are for the whole week, Jonathan, just fine tuning and refining the swing after each round, because after each round you're tired and you go back to your bad methods. So just keeping my eye on my swing has particularly helped my ball striking this week. So my driving of the ball was pretty good, pretty straight today.

Q. The greens seemed a different pace today?

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: I think we both found it hard to read the greens for some reason. There were six really good putts today that I missed all day. You hit the ball on that line and it goes the right direction, you go it wasn't great golf out there today, I admit. It wasn't fantastic, but it was good enough. I mean, you're not playing against par; you're playing against the player, and I was playing against Paul today. I was just trying to just be in the mode of just playing him and trying to be ahead of him in every single shot or every single hole.

Q. Inaudible?

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: Well, it's going to be, once again, you know, obviously the U.S. Open, and the second trophy could be highly sought after. As I said before, there are some great champions here, so once again I'm trying to get my face out there as much as I can.

Q. Presumably the title means more than the one million pounds?

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: When you get to that stage in life, obviously I'm financially quite set for my family and for myself, but competing and winning tournaments around the world is the mojo. That's why we play the game. Wining is great, but trying to prove to the world that I am part of golfing history I'm a big Ben Hogan fan and I recall seeing Ben holding the U.S. Open trophy in his books, you know, and then here I am with the same trophy. I'm sure all of the past winners of this trophy here have had the same sort of hands on it. You we play for prestige; we play for the honor of being part of history.

My big buzz really is to have some sort of influence on the Junior golf back home in New Zealand, and my legacy one day is to see these top New Zealand golfers, young kids come through and win lots of majors, and I want to be a part of that when I retire, helping financially or helping morally or coaching, I don't care, I'll probably have some or the of big part of it development of golf in New Zealand and that's very, very important to me. All I can do right now in my prime is win trophies like this and it's going to enhance a lot of kids back home to encourage them to play the sport, because now obviously after my U.S. Open win and winning this now it's just going to be even more so.

But I'm prepared for that. I'm prepared to be accept the responsibilities of being a role model back home. 'M prepared to be a role model back home.

Q. You thoughts on the Presidents Cup?

MICHAEL CAMPBELL: I haven't even thought about Presidents Cup. I'm going to ask Gary Player to have a rest day on Tuesday because I'm leaving tomorrow morning, 8:00.

GORDON SIMPSON: Have a good flight to Washington. Thanks very much and congratulations.

End of FastScripts.

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297