AFP, Wellington :
Former US Open champion Michael Campbell has said he has retired from tournament golf at the age of 46 and will concentrate on coaching instead, New Zealand press reports said.
Campbell’s greatest moment came at the 2005 US Open when he held off Tiger Woods, then at the peak of his form, to win his only major title.
Subsquently the New Zealander’s career went into a long tailspin and he failed to win another tournament. He did not play at all last year.
“Obviously (winning the US Open) 10 years ago was something special for me and for the country and for golf itself. I fulfilled one of my dreams to win a major and it was fantastic,” Campbell told New Zealand’s Radio Sport.
“But as everyone knows, it has been well documented, my career since then hasn’t been great. But if I walk away from the game right now I could be very proud of my achievements.”
Campbell said injuries had hampered his form and the recent breakup of his marriage had caused him to reassess his priorities.
“It gave me time to reflect on my career and I decided to put golf on the backburner right now and just focus on other things,” he said. “I have had a wonderful, fabulous career over the last 20 years as a professional golfer.
