Michael Campbell

He started playing golf at age 10, encouraged by his father, for whom he served as a caddie. A proud Maori by descent from the Ngati Ruanui tribe on his father's side and Nga Rauru tribe on his mother's side, he has historical links to Scotland through his great-great-great-grandfather Sir Logan Campbell, who emigrated from Edinburgh to New Zealand in 1845.

He founded the Michael Campbell Foundation to further his commitment to helping, inspiring, and motivating young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. He led New Zealand to top amateur honors in the 1992 Eisenhower Trophy. He also won the Australian and New South Wales Amateur championships and was named the New Zealand Young Sportsman of the Year and Australasian Amateur Golfer of the Year in 1992.

Won the 1991 New Zealand Maori championship and was runner-up in the 1992 World Individual Eisenhower Trophy. Member of the 2000 and 2006 International Presidents Cup teams. In addition to his U.S. Open victory in 2005, he also won his eighth European Tour event, the HSBC World Match Play Championship.

Even with his win at the U.S. Open, he primarily competed in Europe. In 2010, he played in 19 events and made one cut.

2011 Notes: Played in 22 events in Europe, made seven cuts, best finish T19th in the Trophee Hassan.

2012 Notes: Played in 21 European events, made eight cuts, and had two top-tens, his first top-tens since 2008. He was 3rd at the Portugal Masters and T8th at the USB Hong Kong Open.

2013 Notes: Played in 18 events on the European Tour, making just four cuts. Best finish, T-16th at the Qatar Masters.

After that, Campbell was burnt out with golf and traveling, suffering from a rotator cuff injury and pain in his left ankle, and his marriage was on the rocks. He went to Spain, ran a golf academy, and returned to competitive golf. But after five years of not competing and watching golf on TV, he started to miss the game. Then he realized he was getting close to 50 and felt the urge to rekindle relationships with other players and possibly play Seniors golf. He felt that his body was healthy and his mind was free of burnout from golf and travel. So, on his 50th birthday, he traveled to Queenstown, New Zealand, to play in his first professional tournament since withdrawing from the 2015 Abu Dhabi Championship. He played in back-to-back tournaments, missing the cut at the New Zealand Open and then the New Zealand PGA Championship. So the 2019 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship is the first true return to golf, playing over 50 tournaments. He shot 81-79 to miss the cut. They played in the U.S. Senior Open and the Senior Open Championship, missing the cut. His only check was for finishing T-15th at the 2019 Shaw Charity Classic.

Since 2012, Campbell has been based in Marbella, Spain, where he has a golf academy. I was looking forward to playing some Legends events across Europe, but that tour has been canceled due to COVID-19. So, to keep sharp, he played on the European Tour in 2020. In 11 starts, he only made one cut, finishing 70th at the Hero Open.

2021 Notes: He played in nine European Legends Tour events, was 36th on the Order of Merit, and earned euro 22,997. His best finish was T-11th at the Legends French Open. He played once on the European Tour, missing the cut at the Andaluca Masters.

2022 Notes: Played in 11 Legends Tour events with one top-ten finish. It was 45th in the order of merit. Their best finish was 6th at the Jersey Legends. Played in three PGA Tour Champions events, T-55th at the Kitchenaid Senior PGA, missed cut at the U.S. Senior Open, and 66th at the Senior Open Championship.

2023 Notes: Played in 14 Legends Tour events with three top-ten finishes. It was 16th in the order of merit. Finished T-9th at the Riegler & Partner Legends, T-3rd at the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship, and T-3rd at the Vinpearl DIC Legends Vietnam. Played in three Champions Tour events, best finish T-41st at the Senior Open Championship.

2024 Notes: Played in 14 Legends Tour events with two top ten finishes. Was 29th on the order of merit, earning euro102,573. Best finish was 5th at Zambia Golf Legends Championship. Played in three Champions Tour events, best finish T-50th at the Regions Tradition.

2025 Notes: Played in 15 Legends Tour events with two top ten finishes. Was 40th on the order of merit, earning euro81,619, best finish T-5th at the Champions UK European Senior Masters and MCB Mauritius Legends. On the Champions Tour missed the cut at the Senior PGA Championship, U.S. Senior Open, and Senior Open Championship.

2026 Notes: Was T-49th at the Staysure Marbella Legends.