Michael Campbell has Brighton to thank for putting him in the right frame of mind for yesterday's victory in the European Open.

The city has been home to the New Zealander, one of the top 30 golfers in the world, for the last two years.

This is where Campbell switches off from the endless succession of flights, hotel rooms and courses that comes with being on tour.

Brighton has given him the chance to relax with his family in preparation for the game's most prestigious prize, the British Open.

A break in his schedule between last month's US Open and the European Open at the K Club in Ireland allowed Campbell to slip back into his other role as husband to Julie, his wife of six years, and their two young sons, Thomas and Jordan.

"I just take time out when I'm here," he said. "I don't even bother thinking about golf. I've got two kids now and that's full-time.

"As soon as I walk through the door of the house I put my father's hat on and take my golfer's cap off. My kids just know me as being their daddy and not this golfer."

Campbell's love affair with Brighton dates back to the roots of his career as a professional. In 1994 he was playing on the challenger tour in the UK and Europe when he made some friends who eventually moved down from Tooting Bec in South London.

The Campbells had set up home in Richmond, close to the Thames. They needed a bigger house to cope with their expanding family, but found the area too expensive.

"We came down here a few times to visit the friends, loved the place and decided to move down," Campbell explained.

"Funnily enough, the friends came up one time with the Argus. We saw a house advertised and six months later we moved in there.

"You get more for your money and there's a lot of diversity here. There are so many festivals and things going on every day and it's very multi-cultural.

"It gets me away from the golfing world. Not many people recognise me and it's nice to be able to walk around the Lanes.

"It's very quiet in that sense, but I love the restaurants here as well. They're fantastic and the little bars. They're very funky.

"The whole package deal of Brighton is very appealing to me, apart from the long weekends when you can't move at all. That's when we move out!

"Another advantage is that I can fly from Gatwick instead of Heathrow, which is too busy and noisy."

Campbell's background matches Brighton's diversity. He was born in the small New Zealand town of Hawera, of Maori descent with Scottish ancestry.

Sir Logan Campbell, his great-great-great grandfather, emigrated from Edinburgh to Auckland in 1845.

Playing in the British Open again north of the border at Muirfield next week will be particularly poignant. "It's always something special for me personally," Campbell said.

"Scotland is where golf started and that's where the best courses in the world are. I'm more a New Zealander than Scottish, but there is a connection."

The Open also connects Campbell to the high and low points of his career so far.

He shot to prominence in 1995, his debut season on the full tour. He led at St Andrews, his favourite course, after three rounds before finishing in a tie for third.

The Maori boy was suddenly flavour of the month. Invitations to play flooded in from all over the world and he suffered golf's version of burnout, culminating in a wrist injury sustained in his own country's Open championship.

"I was a young player in demand, so I decided to play a lot of tournaments," he said.

"I was very naive. I played something like eight tournaments in a row in seven different countries. My last tournament of the year was the New Zealand Open and my body just couldn't handle it.

"I was out for six months and came back too soon when I was invited to Augusta for the first time for the Masters. I did more damage to my wrist, then I had to change my swing because of that.

"All these things accumulated and it was three years before I was on my feet again. I was missing cuts, missed my card on the European tour and on the Australasian tour, so I was in strife."

In 1996, halfway through the French Open, Campbell flirted with quitting.

"It was a very bleak year. I made maybe three cuts out of 30. At the French Open I shot 81 in the first round and 82 or something in the second round.

"I remember just sitting down in the locker room and thinking maybe I can sell golf balls in a pro shop somewhere or go to my old job as a telephone technician. I felt so down and out I didn't think I could do it any more."

The feeling did not last long. Those closest to Campbell soon convinced him he was too talented to throw it all away.

"I had lots of support around me from my wife and family and friends," he said. "They were all fantastic. They believed in me.

"The only person that didn't believe in me was myself, but my attitude now has completely changed."

So much so that Campbell's motto is an expression from the Maori language, "Kia Kaha", which means "Stay Strong".

Campbell's talent for golf surfaced after his family had moved to the New Zealand capital of Wellington.

His mother pulled him out of rugby, because it was "too tough", and he started caddying for his father, then a single figure handicapper at the Titahi Club.

Campbell joined at the age of ten and had a handicap of 11 by the age of 12. In 1992 he became the first Kiwi to win the Australian amateur championship.

Now 33, he has gradually rebuilt his career since the slump in form which coincided with his wrist injury.

He had his best year in 2000, opening the European Tour with victory in the Johnny Walker Classic in Taiwan, where he held off challenges from Tiger Woods and Ernie Els.

He won the next event as well, the Heineken Classic in Perth, a title he retained in 2001, and later in the season the German Masters to finish a career-best fourth in the European Order of Merit and 14th in the world.

Campbell's form has been consistently encouraging so far this season. At the end of May he came third in the Volvo PGA at Wentworth, his sixth top six finish.

He was runner-up in both the Bay Hill Invitational in the States, where he was beaten by Woods, and in the New Zealand Open.

The only real disappointment came in the US Open, where Tiger was alone in taming the horrendously long and difficult Bethpage black course in New York.

A promising two over par round of 72 for Campbell was ruined by a second round 83, which meant he missed the cut.

The European Tour's top rated putter is hoping for much better at Muirfield.

He said: "My favourite Major is the British Open. I've been playing well this year, but I haven't won for a long time.

"I am out there playing golf to win tournaments. "It's nice to have nice houses and cars and all that sort of thing, but what motivates me and most of the top players is to win."