The Queenstown golfer is having an unexpected rest at home as he nurses a niggling wrist injury.
He played the opening round at the LIV tournament in Mexico last month before withdrawing, and had to skip the following tournament in Korea.
‘‘I just sort of strained a tendon and had a bit of fluid in my wrist joint,’’ Campbell told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
‘‘So I’m home for a few weeks and just sort of getting that under control. It’s nothing too serious, but just niggly enough.’’
Campbell, 33, has not had a club in his hand since sustaining the injury, but is hoping to do a little putting this weekend then put his back into a full swing a week later.
The injury to his right wrist came out of nowhere when he was warming up for the Mexico tournament.
‘‘I hit a shot on the range and just really sort of grabbed a bit of turf.
‘‘I didn’t really think too much of it. I felt my wrist click a little bit but it felt fine.
‘‘But it got worse and worse as the day went on, and I lost quite a bit of range in my wrist, which made it tricky on my backswing.
‘‘I had an MRI the next day, and talked to the LIV doctor and our team physio, and we thought it was best to pull out and just have a couple of weeks off, because the end of the year gets quite busy and they were worried I could do more damage.
‘‘It was a good call, I think. I’ve pushed things in the past and been out for a long time, so this is the right move.’’
Recuperation time has given Campbell a chance to reflect on the first half of his inaugural year as a fully carded LIV golfer after a season as a reserve.
Things have gone well for the humble ex-Masterton golfer.
He sits 25th on the LIV money list - the top 24 are guaranteed full tour status next year - with earnings of US$2.19 million (NZ$3.64m), powered by a sizzling third place, and a cheque for NZ$2.6m, in the fourth tournament of the season in Singapore.
‘‘It’s been busy but good,’’ Campbell said.
‘‘It was nice to get off to a good start, and the third in Singapore was great.
‘‘One more decent result would be nice because one of my main goals this year was to get that top 24 and guarantee a spot for the following year, and I’ve put myself in a good position.’’
The next LIV tournament is the Washington, DC stop at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
Then it is off to Dallas, Spain, the United Kingdom, Chicago and Indianapolis before the Team Championship - Campbell’s RangeGoats, captained by Bubba Watson, are presently eighth - in Michigan.
Campbell is particularly looking forward to playing the Valderrama course at the Spanish stop, and the JCB Country Club in England.
‘‘Some of those American courses are pretty long for my length, so those two should be ideal.’’
After the LIV season, Campbell will return to the Asian Tour in October-November for several International Series tournaments.
