“I don’t really feel a part of the PGA Tour.”
That was Rafa Campos again in February, on the vary at PGA Nationwide, the place he would quickly be shut out of yet one more event as a Korn Ferry Tour graduate. With a low precedence rank, Campos would tee it up simply thrice earlier than the Valspar Championship in late March. By no means thoughts that Campos posted two top-20s throughout that stretch; he’d exit the Tour cease in his native Puerto Rico at No. 110 in FedExCup factors.
“I really feel like I may be a type of top-50 guys on the earth, however I want the alternatives, plain and easy,” Campos added earlier this yr. “Once you’re solely taking part in every week monthly not realizing while you’re taking part in subsequent, after which having to place a bit of additional strain on that week realizing that you just want the factors, it’s not the identical as having the ability to have a full schedule.”
Campos later missed eight straight cuts in the course of the meat of the season. He then didn’t make 4 straight weekends getting into this week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship. At No. 147 factors, he was two begins away from possible dropping his job.
However then one thing loopy occurred: All the way down to his remaining couple alternatives, Campos lastly capitalized, overcoming windy situations to shoot 19 beneath and seize his first profession PGA Tour title by three photographs on Sunday at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda.
Now, Campos is a part of the PGA Tour for not less than the subsequent two seasons.
And it took mere milliseconds for it to sink in, Campos’ feelings pouring out because the ball disappeared within the gap for the ultimate time to mark the 36-year-old Campos as simply the second PGA Tour winner from Puerto Rico, following the late Chi-Chi Rodriguez.
“It’s been an unbelievable week, finest week of my life,” mentioned Campos, nonetheless balling and drenched after being showered with champagne from some friends, together with Nico Echavarria, who grabbed his second profession Tour win a couple of weeks in the past. “After such a nasty yr, to have issues sort of go my method, all the pieces collectively without delay, I’m simply so joyful and grateful to have the help I do. My crew, my coaches, my sponsors, my household. My caddie did an important job right this moment. I simply can’t consider that is really taking place to me after such a yr. I’m simply grateful to have the ability to name myself a PGA Tour champion. It’s one thing I’ve dreamt about all my life. I simply need to name my household.”
Campos’ spouse, Stephanie, was again dwelling in Puerto Rico with the couple’s new child daughter, Paola, who was born on Monday. With Campos combating to maintain his card, Stephanie selected to induce labor between begins in Cabo and Bermuda. Campos didn’t arrive in Bermuda till Thursday morning, simply hours earlier than his first-round tee time.
All of a sudden at peace with no matter skilled golf threw his method these remaining two weeks, Campos embraced the excessive wind gusts, which flirted with 40 mph on Saturday. And regardless of being ranked outdoors the highest 150 on Tour in strokes gained tee to inexperienced, Campos gleaned confidence from remembering his lone skilled victory, in a gusty Bahamas in 2019 on the Korn Ferry Tour. He fired a 9-under 62 on Saturday to seize his third profession 54-hole lead on Tour, and on Sunday, he performed the six-hole stretch of Nos. 6-11 in 4 beneath with an eagle on the par-5 seventh.
Issues might’ve simply gone sideways after Campos lipped out a 1-footer for par on the par-4 14th, however Campos nonetheless had a two-shot lead at that time. A birdie on the par-5 seventeenth stored him two away from eventual runner-up Andrew Novak, who bogeyed his final gap to shoot 71, three worse than Campos’ closing 68.
“It was so laborious to make putts right this moment,” Novak mentioned. “So many brief misses, stuff like that. Greens haven’t been reduce since Friday, it’s blowing 30, two ft isn’t even secure. Prefer it was so scary right this moment.”
Sam Ryder tied for Justin Decrease and Vince Whaley for fifth, a shot again of Mark Hubbard and Adrien Dumont de Chassart at 15 beneath. Ryder’s robust end bumped him up 13 spots to No. 122 in FedExCup factors. Wesley Bryan backed up a third-round 61 with a 74 and T-17 end, but he nonetheless climbed three spots to No. 125 in factors getting into subsequent week’s fall finale, the RSM Traditional.
The highest 125 gamers after that retain full membership on the PGA Tour subsequent yr. Campos not wants to fret about such a bubble.
He’s a part of the PGA Tour for some time.
