There is a late 1990’s film ITAL The Vanishing ITAL that is, well, something of a horror movie. That title could well be given to any number of professional golfers who reach such giddy heights as winning a major and then plunge into obscurity.
It is well documented Ian Baker Finch, the 1991 British Open Champion, in one of them. He shoots in the 60s every time he plays socially but, put a tournament scorecard in his hand, and those very hands begin to tremble as the gray matter in his brain whispers quietly: Fear of Failure. Thankfully IBF has found another golfing career as a TV commentator, and his expertise and inside knowledge of players is quite superb.
Never once through his trauma did Baker-Finch snap, and he was to be admired for it. He made you feel comfortable whenever you crossed his path with intent and a newspaper yarn.
New Zealander Michael Campbell, winner of the 2005 US Open, is another. He is proud indigenous Kiwi but also more than happy to call Australia home. He lives in suburb of Bellevue Hill in Sydney’s east where multi-millionaires are tuppence a dozen.
Cambo, as we affectionately know him, should have been in the depths of despair in recent years, but he’s played on because he continues to have belief in himself. Others might have found alternate employment. His last tournament win was the limited field World Match Play Championship at England’s Wentworth course just a few months after holding out Tiger Woods in the US Open championship. Until last weekend, his best finish since was third in the 2008 British Masters. Between that event and last weekend’s Portugal Masters he played 90 tournaments with 69 missed cuts.
In Portugal, he shot all four rounds in the 60s – 68-69-67-68 – to finish third behind Ireland’s Shane Lowrey to pick up a cheque for nearly $190,000 that is more than his total earnings in the three years of 2009-2011.
Courtesy of travelling Australian golf writer Bernie McGuire who covers the European Tour for a number of British/Irish newspapers, and is so in love with the game of golf that he has a home in St Andrews, we have a few quotes from Campbell.
“If someone said to me at the start of the week, ‘Look Michael, you’ll finish third or fourth this week,’ I’d be very happy indeed. I’m just happy to be up there now and just in contention. I felt very calm out there once again.
“It’s surprising. I haven’t been amongst it for such a long time. (It) felt like yesterday. It’s incredible. I felt very much in control of my emotions and very much in control of my golf swing, so it’s a nice feeling.”
Just recently, Campbell went back to his old coach Jonathon Yarwood and, maybe, therein lies the resurgence.