Sometimes, success comes when you least expect it.
Last Monday, Rafael Campos's wife gave birth to their first child. He was able to hold his daughter for the first time and then caught a flight to Bermuda to try and save his lackluster PGA Tour season—barely.
The 36-year-old Puerto Rican arrived at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship 90 minutes before his first-round tee time. However, it didn't matter. Campos went on to earn his first Tour title in the season's penultimate event, finishing at 19 under, three strokes ahead of Andrew Novak.
Afterward, Campos was overwhelmed with emotion.
"I can't believe this is happening to me." 🥹@RafaCamposGolf was overcome with emotion after his first TOUR win @Bermuda_Champ. pic.twitter.com/GlKXjhyzqb
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 17, 2024
“It's been an unbelievable week, best week of my life,” he told Golf Channel on the 18th green. “After such a bad year, to have things kind of go my way, everything together at once, I'm just so happy and grateful to have the support I do. My team, my coaches, my sponsors, my family. My caddie did a great job today. I just can't believe this is actually happening to me after such a year. I'm just grateful to be able to call myself a PGA Tour champion. It's something I've dreamt about all my life. I just want to call my family.”
Campos came into the week ranked No. 147 in the FedExCup standings, with the top 125 earning their Tour cards for 2025 following this week's RSM Classic. Now, following the win, he has a two-year exemption and secured a spot in next year's Masters and PGA Championship.
It has been a rough year for Campos on the course. He was the last player from the Korn Ferry Tour to earn his card for 2024, finishing at No. 30 in the standings. But he missed 16 cuts in 23 starts this year—including four straight entering Bermuda—and was in jeopardy of losing his card again.
And knowing a baby was coming increased the pressure.
“Ironically, (the poor play) started as soon as my wife told me we're pregnant after the Puerto Rico Open,” Campos said. “(Campos's sports psychologist) said, 'What do you think changed?' I said ... 'Now I really want to play well, I want to make money so I can give her the life' — my mind just completely shifted. I just started focusing on like, man, I want to do as well as I can just to provide for her, which is a great way to think about it, but it completely took me off target.”
Now, after one of the unlikeliest wins of the season, Campos can breathe a sigh of relief, collecting $1.242 million with the victory.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rafael Campos’s Emotional Interview After First PGA Tour Win Was So Special.
