Campbell claims HSBC and Europe's top spot
BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2005 HSBC World Match Play Championship | Wrap | 19 Sep 2005
Michael Campbell’s great 2005 year just keeps rolling on. His win in this weekend’s HSBC World Match Play and the accompanying purse of £1 million will ensure this is Campbell’s most rewarding year financially, but it is that he is now regarded as amongst the elite of the game that is likely of greater reward to the New Zealander.
His 2 & 1 victory over a determined Paul McGinley will no doubt have been a tremendous thrill but perhaps his win over Retief Goosen on Saturday will be the victory that gave him most pleasure. Goosen had taken all before him in his opening two rounds. The South African had recorded 11 birdies in 29 holes when beating Kenneth Ferrie, then 8 birdies when beating Mark Hensby in round two.
While I am sure Goosen would be the last person to make excuses for himself, that he had been in winning contention in each of his last two starts in China and Germany, must surely have had some bearing on his less than convincing semi-final against Campbell. Mind you Campbell also played the same events although without the added intensity of contention in Germany.
After a tough battle in round one when he all but blew a six hole lead over Geoff Ogilvy, Campbell had yet another close match against an Australian on his hands when, after a slow start, Steve Elkington raced to a five up lead through seventeen holes of their morning round. The turning point in that match probably came just before lunch when Campbell birdied the 18th to head to the break at four down. When they came back Elkington almost inexplicably fell away recording a five over par round to let Campbell back into the match. Campbell took the opportunity with both hands and won at the first extra hole by getting up and down from the side of the green to save par.
Campbell put his semi-final against Goosen beyond doubt very quickly when he eagled the 4th then birdied the 5th, 6th 7th to move to 4 up. He went to lunch 5 up and he had lost only two holes all day when the match finished at the 30th.
With Goosen gone, Campbell now became the favourite. He has become somewhat of a Wentworth specialist falling in love with the place in his first year on the European Tour in 1995 when runner up at the Volvo PGA “Burma Road”. He has often played well there since and with the added confidence the US Open Championship has given him, he was now the man to beat.
The more favoured contenders such as Montgomerie and Bjorn had been eliminated in the early rounds and so Campbell’s opponent in the final would be between Angel Cabrera and Paul McGinley. Cabrera like Campbell has an affinity with Wentworth having won here in May and played well on other occasions. He was the second highest world ranked player in the field and played like he was in his early matches. He held off a strong late challenge from Trevor Immelman in round one and then outplayed Jose Maria Olazabal in round two.
McGinley, though, is a proven match player and was runner up over this course in May. He has been in good form of late and when he handled one of the pre-tournament favourites in round one, in Thomas Bjorn, he was already threatening to go a lot further. He did just that in round two when he blitzed one of British golf’s great hopes, Luke Donald, in a one sided match. Up against Cabrera in their semi-final, McGinley fell behind briefly through eight holes but when he went one up at the 10th he was ahead and would not look back. He went to lunch three up and would eventually win at the 33rd.
The final was evenly poised over the morning 18 with Campbell one up at lunch. When McGinley took double bogey at the 3rd in the afternoon round he had fallen three behind but Campbell lost his way a little in the middle of the round and let McGinley back into the match. Bogies by McGinley at the 15th and 16th would prove the difference in a match where fatigue was likely setting in. Campbell won at the 17th 2 & 1.
For Campbell it further rewards the decisions he made earlier in the year at about the time of the Qatar Masters when he worked at making his life both on and off the golf course less complicated. He reduced his entourage but also worked on getting back to basics with his game rather than getting bogged down with it.
“I tried hard to work out what works for me and stick with it and try not to complicate things as much as I had been,” he said not long after the US Open win.
The £1 million is a huge bonus although not all of that will go alongside his name on the European Tour money list. €601,000 is added to his European Tour money list earnings in order to keep things in some sort of perspective and as such he is now back ahead of Goosen.
While Campbell heads to Virginia to take on the Americans as part of the International Presidents Cup Team, McGinley is at the Wynyard Club in the north east of England for this week’s Seve Trophy where Great Britain and Ireland will take on the Europeans.
Photo – Anthony Powter
