Rafael Campos (-19) will never forget this third week of November 2024. It began on Monday with the induced labour of his wife so he could be present at the birth of his first daughter before travelling to Bermuda to play the penultimate tournament of the PGA Tour season, where he was competing for full playing rights for 2025. And he closed it this afternoon at the Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, with tears in his eyes, achieving the first victory of his career on the tour in his 80th tournament.
Five years ago, in the Bahamas, he demonstrated his ability to thrive when the wind blows strong. He did so by winning the Great Abaco Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour. And this week, in very demanding conditions, with gusts in some areas of the course exceeding even 50 kilometres per hour, he showcased his best version, with a spectacular collection of low shots, giving a tremendous boost to his sporting career.
✅ Father on Monday
✅ First-time TOUR winner on SundayA life-changing week for @RafaCamposGolf ❤️ pic.twitter.com/0ihCHX9xZE
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 17, 2024
With his triumph, the 36-year-old Puerto Rican golfer secures his card for the next two years, up to and including 2026, climbing to 80th place in the overall FedEx Fall standings, even giving himself the opportunity to compete next week for the 51st to 60th positions that grant access to the first two designated tournaments of the 2025 season, and also securing spots in the upcoming editions of the Sentry, THE PLAYERS, the Masters, and the PGA Championship. Quite something.
With a birdie on the 6th and a fantastic eagle on the 7th, Campos managed to minimise the effects of the two bogeys he made on the first nine holes of the final round, on the 4th and 9th. And to start the second half of the course, birdies on the 10th and 11th to distance himself at the top of the leaderboard. A three-shot margin that seemed definitive when he was about to face holes 15 and 16, the most difficult on the course where practically no one made birdies today.
However, on the 14th, after a very good birdie putt that stopped a hand’s breadth from the hole, he made a terrible mistake. An excess of confidence when he had the par made with a very bad putt that touched the edge of the cup and came out. A bogey that tightened the leaderboard and gave life to Andrew Novak (-16), because Justin Lower (-14), the third member of Sunday’s star group, got stuck on the tee shot of that same 14th hole and ended up making two consecutive bogeys that took him out of the equation.
There are no gimmes on the PGA TOUR.
Rafa Campos' lead is down from 3 to 2. pic.twitter.com/0jwSMrpe8j
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 17, 2024
Campos handled the delicate par-four 15 without problems with a good par to maintain a two-shot margin. And on the very challenging par-three 16, he was about to seal the tournament with a putt that stopped a centimetre from the hole and refused to drop in. The Puerto Rican even waited the 10 seconds required to see if the strong wind would move the ball towards the hole, but he had to settle for par and risk it all on the last two flags.
There came the key moment of the tournament. He used strategy from the tee of the par-five 17, playing an iron to ensure the fairway and a long second iron that went to the back of the green, on the right. Novak took a risk and managed to create an eagle opportunity. If he holed it and Rafael didn’t make the birdie, they would both go tied to the 18th. But Campos pulled off magic with a sensational long putt from the edge of the green to leave the ball half a metre away and secure the birdie.
The American, to top it off, missed the eagle putt, so the leader could head to the 18th with a two-shot margin and half the tournament in his pocket. It mattered little that his approach shot went long of the green, into the rough. The tournament was his. A fantastic victory that undoubtedly changes his life. Not as much as becoming a first-time father, but almost. A cheque for $1,242,000 and the work contract for the next two years are already his, the bread under the arm brought by little Paola Isabel.
Adrien Dumont de Chassart (-15), tied for third, takes advantage of the week by climbing 33 places to 142nd in the FedEx Fall to give himself a chance next week at the RSM Classic to maintain full playing rights. Just like Sam Ryder (-14), who moves from 133rd to 122nd, or Wesley Bryan (-10), who started the tournament in 128th place and now marks the cut line at 125th. In seven days, resolution to the autumn calendar of the tour, a tournament that no longer affects the good Rafael Campos.
