Rafael Campos is a professional golfer from Puerto Rico who competed on all manner of circuits throughout North and South America before reaching the PGA Tour. Discover more about his life and career here.
RAFAEL CAMPOS FACTS
1. Campos was born on April 15, 1988 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He still lives on the archipelago in a place called Guaynabo.
2. He has a twin sister called Cristina, plus a younger brother and an older sister.
3. He started playing golf when he was nine years old.
4. Between 2006-10, Campos attended Virginia Commonwealth University and was teammates with fellow PGA Tour pro, Lanto Griffin for all four years. The pair helped the Rams to a team title at the 2009 Colonial Athletic Association Championship.
5. Campos turned professional in 2011, before joining the PGA Tour Latinoamerica. The following year, he finished third on the Order of Merit.
6. The Puerto Rican won the Puerto Rico Amateur Championship for four years in a row between 2007 and 2010.
7. His amateur career also saw him finish 17th at the 2010 World Amateur Team Championship in Argentina.
8. Despite first joining the PGA Tour officially in 2019, Campos made his debut on the Tour at 20 years old in 2008 during the inaugural Puerto Rico Open.
9. Another third-place finish on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica Order of Merit in 2015 secured his place on the Web.com Tour in 2016.
10. However, an 111th-place finish on the Web.com Tour money list during his debut season on the Tour meant that he didn't retain membership.
11. Away from golf, Campos claims to be an excellent ping-pong player. His other hobbies include cooking and fishing, with the Puerto Rican claiming to have "more fishing lures than anyone can imagine."
12. In March 2017, Campos finished T10th at the Puerto Rico Open on the PGA Tour. That allowed him entry into the following week's Houston Open, where he ended seventh.
13. Having fallen back down to the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, Campos was given a sponsor exemption to the Web.com Tour's 2017 Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship and finished third. As a result, he was handed a start at the Web.com Tour's subsequent event and grabbed T11th to secure Special Temporary Membership for the remainder of the season. At the end of the year, he finished 57th on the money list to earn full status for 2018.
14. Campos' first professional victory came in January 2019 at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic on the Web.com Tour. He became the first Puerto Rican to win on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour.
15. The Puerto Rican eventually earned his PGA Tour card ahead of the 2019-20 season after finishing 18th on the Korn Ferry Tour points list.
16. After playing only nine events in his debut PGA Tour campaign, Campos injured his back and missed the remainder of the season. However, due to the PGA Tour adjusting its eligibility as a result of Covid-19, he was able to retain his membership without having to rely on a Major Medical Exemption.
17. Campos has twice represented Puerto Rico at the Olympic Games. He finished T57th at Tokyo 2020 and T30th at Paris 2024.
18. In 2023, he began changing his nutritional lifestyle and eventually lost nearly 50 pounds before adding around 10 pounds back on in muscle via strength training.
19. Campos claimed his first PGA Tour victory at the 2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship, winning by three strokes after posting 19-under.
20. His wife is called Stephanie, with the pair marrying on December 23, 2020. They have a daughter called Paola who was born just days before Campos won his maiden PGA Tour title in November 2024.
