GOLF/Tour Scene/US Open: You'd swear he had no home to go to. In the gathering gloom of Pinehurst No 2 late on Sunday evening, Michael Campbell moved from one media engagement to another, all the time clutching the US Open championship trophy.

When an Australian radio reporter informed him that the New Zealand prime minister was on the other end of the telephone line, Cambo took the trophy with him into the booth, and spent 15 minutes chatting away like your best friend on a bar stool.

All the time, the trophy he'd worked so hard to get into his possession was within arm's reach; and, occasionally, he would move his hand over to caress it, rubbing his fingers over the names of previous winners, those of Nicklaus, Hogan, Woods. And, naturally enough, Campbell had on him a smile as wide as Titahi Bay, where he'd been introduced to golf as a 10-year-old.

Now, one stage of a journey that brought much trials and tribulations and, at one juncture, almost led to him quitting the sport, has been complete; now, the 36-year-old, who'll be playing in next week's Smurfit European Open at the K Club, can prepare for a new phase in his golfing existence.

From having no card back in 1998 and relying on sponsor's invitations, a whole new world has opened up. The win earned him a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour, an exemption into the US Open for 10 years, and five-year exemptions into the US Masters, the British Open, the US PGA and the Players Championship.

Golfing life hasn't always been easy for Campbell. He burst on to the scene in the 1995 British Open and led by two strokes going into the final round, only to close with a 76 and finish third behind John Daly. Tough times followed. After his brush with glory at the British Open, he suffered a wrist injury that set him back several years and wreaked havoc with his swing. He lost his tour cards and lost interest in the game.

"In '98, I was shooting 80s all the time, close to the 90s. I just could not play the game. I could not focus on what I was doing. I could not swing the golf club.

"I remember throwing my golf club or golf bag across the room in a hotel one time. I thought, 'this is it, it is all over'. I was about to get an axe and chop them into pieces and throw them away.

"Back in '98, I was going to throw the game away and sell golf balls. I missed my European Tour card, my Australian Tour card . . . I had no place to play.

"Luckily enough, I got a few invitations and regained my card for both tours.

"Emotionally, it's been a bit of a roller-coaster," conceded Campbell, who closed with a 69 to finish on level par 280 for a two-shot-winning margin over Tiger Woods.

"Look at his career, how he was playing really well and, then, all of a sudden he lost it," said Woods, who was reaching for the second leg of the Grand Slam.

"He lost his game and had to rebuild it from scratch. He did a fantastic job of coming back, from a person who was missing cut after cut, to a person who is now the US Open champion."

On a quite remarkable day's golf, Retief Goosen, who had carried a three-shot lead into the final round, suffered freefall and finished with an 81.

"From the second hole on (which he double bogeyed), I got on the wrong side of the golf course and I got bitten. I played rubbish at the end of the day," admitted Goosen.

Campbell, who had started the final round four shots behind, became the first qualifier since Steve Jones in 1996 to win the US Open. The Kiwi earned his place in the field after coming through the international qualifying at Walton Heath in England two weeks ago and came in under the radar at Pinehurst.

He missed the cut in his first five events on the European Tour this season, but had shown some form of late, including top-10 finishes in the British Masters and the BMW Championship.

"I snuck in there without anyone noticing," remarked Campbell, whose last win came in the Irish Open at Portmarnock in 2003, when he had returned to playing in Europe after a horrific time in the US when it seemed he couldn't make a cut.

"I knew I was working on the right things and I knew it would come to fruition. Just the self-belief and patience over the past 10 years has really paid dividends."

In becoming the second New Zealander, after Bob Charles in the British Open in 1963, to win a major, Campbell has taken himself to a new level. "Winning here has definitely changed my direction. I might just come over (to the US) among my fellow peers like Darren Clarke, Ian Poulter, Padraig Harrington . . . I think it is time for a move now. If I'm allowed."

That remark concerns Campbell's brief stint on the US Tour in 2003 when he failed to play the requisite number of tournaments in America to keep his card.

"I think 2003 was a different scenario. I uprooted my family and brought them over here. We had no house, no fixed abode, just 12 weeks on the road with my wife and two little boys. It was just completely chaos and we were very unsettled, so I didn't complete my 15 tournaments which meant I couldn't join the tour."

Now, his life has changed completely and utterly.

Basically, he can play where and when he wants. His financial future is secure, and the next task is to move on and claim another major. By a strange twist of fate, his next major will be at St Andrews next month, 10 years on from his first brush with glory.