But it could have been so much better after leading going into the final round.
For Campbell it has been a long road to recovery from a hip operation and repair to a tear in a disc in his back in September 2019.
It was a happy Campbell who teed it up again after 18 months in dry dock.
After his first two rounds of 69 he was close to the leaders.
But then a brilliant third round 64 on Saturday, which featured seven birdies, an eagle and a bogey, outshone Ryan Fox’s 66 and left him in the lead one ahead of Fox.
It was always going to be a tall order to beat Fox, a seasoned and successful European Tour player.
Three bogeys in the first seven holes on the final day derailed Campbell’s challenge, while Fox reeled off a birdie blitz to shoot 62 and street the field for a seven-shot win. Campbell fought back well with three birdies and a bogey.
While naturally disappointed Campbell was upbeat.
"It is nice to be back after so long and still know I can compete. The last day was disappointing but I felt like I played a lot better than I scored," he said.
He bogeyed two par-5s despite two good shots.
"My chipping let me down on those holes so I need to do some work on the short game. Chipping is a bit rusty after the long break."
Campbell will stay in the North Island for the next Charles Tour event this weekend.
" I’m looking forward to teeing it up at the Muriwai Open then I will head home for a break. I will go back north for the Wairakei ProAm ($40,000) on the 20th of April and then the following week the big one the NZPGA ($100,000) at Te Puke.
Campbell will be looking to repeat his win in this event the last time it was played.
- By Neville Idour
