Phoenix Campbell has been having something of a form renaissance of late, yet the Victorian’s title defence of the Lismore Ford NSW Open Regional Qualifier almost wasn’t to be.
Smiling and relatively happy after opening with a 1-under round of 69 at Lismore Workers Golf Club on Monday, Campbell was likely happy just to be able to contest the 36-hole event in northern New South Wales.
Returning home to Melbourne after recent events on the adidas Pro-Am Series in Queensland, including at Biloela where he shot a 59 and shared the winner’s spoils with Jye Pickin, Campbell had planned to drive north on Saturday ahead of Monday’s first round.
Set for a run of four Regional Qualifiers in the north of New South Wales, with each offering three spots into the Ford NSW Open later this year, Campbell’s travel plans came unstuck at the border between New South Wales and Victoria when his car struck a guardrail in Albury.
The severity of the accident not lost on Campbell, who was fortunate to walk away unharmed, however, with unsalvageable damage to his car, an alternate journey to defend the title he claimed by a shot from Douglas Klein in 2026 was required.
“It’s gone,” Campbell, who sits seven shots back of leader Jake McLeod, said of his vehicle.
“I had a bit of a mission. I had to get a tow, so I got towed off the Hume (Highway) to some junkyard, walked to a train station, trained back to Melbourne.
“Went to Southern Cross, then Ubered home, booked a flight for yesterday (Sunday). Flew up to the Goldie (Gold Coast) yesterday, hired a car, drove down. So pretty tired.”
Having made a remarkable, and lucky, trip just to arrive in time in Lismore, Campbell’s tiredness caused a continuation of one of the more unusual returns of a defending champion when he struck what some would consider an ominous first shot of the tournament.
“I had a sleep-in this morning, so I didn’t get here with much time either. I had half an hour,” Campbell said.
“The nets were full, so I went straight to the 12th tee… straight out of bounds, first shot.”
From there, things improved for the two-time winner on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia as he pieced together an under-par round as he continues to find better golf, having endured a horror run that saw him miss 15 straight cuts after his triumph in Lismore last year.
Campbell’s bogey at his opening hole the only dropped shot against three birdies on Monday as he builds more and more confidence following a return to coach Darren Cole and a simplified approach to the game.
“I’ve had a lot of change actually the last six months or so. January, I went back to my old coach, Darren Cole. We kind of started building again. I was in a pretty bad place. I obviously missed every single cut last season.
“I wasn’t having much fun. It’s not to be travelling and, and hacking it. But we got a bit of rhythm. The goal for me at the moment is just to keep enjoying it, trying to just play creatively and be a bit more natural and athletic.”
The 25-year-old not only seeing the six Regional Qualifiers as a chance to maintain his rhythm but also as an opportunity to fine-tune his game to conditions he is more likely to see when the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season begins.
“It’s unreal,” Campbell said of the Regional Qualifying Series.
“It’s kind of perfect for me because coming from the Sandbelt, it’s pretty difficult to find courses that are going to be similar conditions to what you play on tour or even other tours. Just because of how manicured they are and the grass isn’t firm.
“These are like a perfect training ground for me. I find a bit of competitive time. You play with some good players and get to meet a lot of people. It’s ideal for me.”
A good finish at Lismore, and over the course of the Series, no doubt ideal as well, as Campbell looks to replace his car that lies at a scrapyard in Albury some 1,200 kilometres away.
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