Puerto Rican Rafael Campos is a PGA Tour winner less than a week aftrer the birth of his first child after victory at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship
Heading into the final round at Port Royal Golf Course, he was level at the top of the leaderboard with US star Andrew Novak after the pair each produced rounds of 62 on Saturday.
Immediately beneath them was Justin Lower, who stood one shot off the lead on 15-under to take his place in the final group, while Wesley Bryan was also firmly in contention for his second PGA Tour title as he began the final round three off the lead in fourth, helped by tying the course record with a 10-under 61 the day before.
For Bryan, Sunday was a far less enjoyable experience, with a triple bogey seven on the fourth and double bogey on the 16th the low points as he slipped down the leaderboard, eventually finishing T17.
Lower fared better, and even briefly held the lead after three birdies in his first seven holes, but his round of 72 wasn’t quite enough to sustain his challenge. Instead, Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Mark Hubbard stepped up with rounds of 66 to head back to the clubhouse in T3.
All the while, Novak and Campos battled it out for the title in blustery conditions. The pair traded the lead in the opening nine, but they were both locked at one-under for the day as they made the turn, and Campos – who earned his PGA Tour card via the final qualifying place on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour points list – edged in front on the 10th with a birdie as Novak made par.
On the 11th, it got even better for Campos with another birdie as Novak bogeyed to increase his opponent’s lead to three. That’s how it stayed until the 14th, when a lapse of concentration cost Campos as he missed a par putt from less than a foot to reduce his lead to two.
Pars for each followed at the 15th and 16th before each made birdie at the 17th to head to the 18th with Novak needing to claw back two to force a playoff.
It didn’t start well for Novak, as a cry of “fore” greeted his tee shot, which drifted right in the wind, while Campos found the fairway. It wasn’t without drama, though, as Campos’ approach went over the green. Novak fared no better, though, finding a bunker to the right of the green.
Campos recovered well as his chip onto the green with his third ran within a couple of feet of the hole, leaving victory all but assured. He duly saved par to seal a memorable victory by three after Novak could only bogey.
Campos’ maiden PGA Tour win will be all the sweeter as he becomes only the second Puerto Rican to win on the circuit after Hall of Fame player Chi-Chi Rodríguez, who passed away in August aged 88.
Not only that, but it comes after a dreadful run of form for the 36-year-old, who had missed 13 of the previous 14 cuts. Campos also became a dad for the first time less than a week ago following the birth of his daughter Paola Isabel.
Campos also began the week well below the top 125 in the FedEx Cup standings needed to guarantee a PGA Tour card for next season. The win changes all that, propelling him to 80th to claim a two-year exemption, along with a spot in The Sentry and The Players Championship among other perks. Meanwhile, the win banks him $1.242m.
Afterwards, an emotional Campos told the Golf Channel: “It's been an unbelievable week, best week of my life. 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."
He added: "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."
