Michael Campbell is tied for the lead after day one of the Champions UK plc European Senior Masters at La Manga, joining the in-form Mikael Lundberg and the most recent Legends Tour winner, Andrew Marshall, at five-under-par.
And after signing for an impressive round of 68, the New Zealander revealed that he recently underwent heart surgery. “What made things so simple out there today? A new heart, literally,” said Campbell. “I had a heart operation two months ago which I had held off for two years. I had Atrial Fibrillation which means my heart was racing out of rhythm. So I was tired and couldn’t focus on the golf course for the last two or three years. But today I felt really in the present, very focused and I played great.
“This is life-changing for me, really. I only started playing again a few weeks ago, so it’s been a big turnaround for me and I feel great out there. It’s not 100% yet, I’ve got another three or four months before I’ll be back to full health, but now I’m running at about 75% – which is better than the 20% over the last two or three years so I’m very happy with that and very happy with how I played today.”
For a man with eight DP World Tour titles – including that memorable 2005 US Open win over Tiger Woods – it is remarkable that Campbell is yet to record a win on the Legends Tour after six seasons on the Seniors circuit. But after returning to play in Italy two weeks ago at the Sergio Melpignano Senior Italian Open – where he finished a creditable T24 – he hit the ground running at La Manga, carding six birdies and threatening many more with a string of precise iron shots.
One of the last to finish on day one, Campbell joined the man who won his maiden Legends Tour title in Italy, Andrew Marshall, and Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg at the top of the leaderboard.
Having broken through at the 33rd time of asking on the Legends Tour, Marshall continued his imperious form with another impressive round in Spain, recording the only bogey-free score on day one as fast greens and high winds made conditions difficult for the players.
“I’m still on this wave from winning in Italy,” said Marshall after his 68. “I had a nice week off with the boys last week and I’ve just carried on playing really well. I’m hitting fairways and greens and not three-putting, so I’m not dropping anything – and then I picked one up on the last which was great.
“I like playing in the wind, to be honest. I play a softer ball, have a low flight and don’t spin it too much so it probably plays in my hands a little bit. But there’s a lot of good players out there and the greens are good, so looking forward to the weekend.”
Sweden’s Lundberg is another player who openly relishes the windy conditions. And while he might not have claimed a victory, he has certainly been the Legends Tour’s form player over the last few months, with six top-10s in his last eight starts.
The wind got stronger and stronger but I loved it,” said Lundberg, who is a three-time winner on the DP World Tour. “I love playing in the wind. It makes you think less about the swing and just focus on getting the ball where you want it to go.
“At the Senior Open I found something with my putting and I’ve played really well since then. I’ve been working really hard on it and that’s really been the difference. It’s really just a few different feelings, but mostly it’s about grinding and spending a lot of time on it. That’s what gets the results.”
The stunning La Manga Club in Murcia is extremely popular with visitors from Sweden in search of warm weather golf and that was further confirmed by the presence of two more Swedes in the top-five, as former Ryder Cuppers Jarmo Sandelin and Joakim Haeggman carded impressive 69s. That number was matched by Germany’s Thomas Gögele and another former member of Team Europe, Jamie Donaldson.
Playing only his second Legends Tour event, the Welshman sits just one back in Spain. “I’m very happy with that round,” he said afterwards. “There’s some really fiddly holes out there and you don’t have to miss by much. I put the ball nicely in position, drove it quite well, got up on all the par fives – I had an eagle putt on every one and made one of them so very happy. It’s important really to drive it well on the par fives so you can make birdies on all of them. But that wind today was really tricky.”
His Ryder Cup captain from 2014, Paul McGinley, turned in a solid round of 70 to sit at -3, with Bradley Dredge and David Shacklady a further shot back at -2 ahead of round two.
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