Kapalua, Hawaii — The cream-colored envelope arrived at the home of Rafael Campos in Puerto Rico on December 23, with no clue as to who it was from Augusta National or what it contained. So he opened it and waited a few days to find an invitation to the Masters.
“I wanted that to be my Christmas present,” Campos said. “And it was surreal. Just trying to understand, ‘Is this really happening?’ And it was really cool.”
Six weeks after 36-year-old Campos gave himself a great moment in golf by winning the Bermuda Championships, he still finds it hard to fathom what happened.
He was afraid he would miss the Bermuda Championships because his wife was expecting their first child. He brought his daughter home and arrived in Bermuda about two hours before tee time. And he won.
No wonder he can’t stop smiling.
“At least once a week for the last month and a half, my wife has said, ‘That’s really what happened,’” Campos said.
But for how long?
The PGA Tour has a long history of such moments, and the new structure for 2026 could make them happen much less frequently. Only the top 100 players will have full cards, down from 125. Field sizes are shrinking. Monday’s qualifying spots are shrinking. This is even more decapitating.
Campos remembers when he first heard rumors about this new system.
“In my mind, I thought, ‘Oh, now we’re going to have a harder time,’” he said. “I’m not a fan of it. I understand why they do that. It’s like cutting back on time so everyone can get it done, and maybe that’s for the sponsors. And yet again you are taking our jobs away from us. And it’s not easy. “There are an incredible number of golfers out there who deserve to be there.”
The sudden victory, the Puerto Rican’s first since his beloved Chi-Chi Rodriguez passed away three months earlier, was what brought Campos to Maui for the start of a PGA Tour season he thought would not include him.
This was something that had not guaranteed him a job for two years. Instead of just hoping for a spot in the tournament, I also had the opportunity to plan my schedule. And yes, he’s going to the Masters.
All year long, none of this seemed remotely possible.
Campos found out his wife, Stephanie, was pregnant in the spring, and all he could think about was making sure he could provide for them. Then he started missing three straight and nine straight cuts. He was running out of time, and so was his wife.
Her deadline was Sunday at the Bermuda Championships, the second tournament of the season. Campos ranked 147th in the FedEx Cup, and even if he stays in the top 150, his opportunities to participate in 2025 are expected to be severely limited.
He couldn’t afford to miss Bermuda.
“I always had a backup plan,” said Campos, who turned pro after playing at Virginia Commonwealth and had played only one previous season in the big leagues. “This was my first time. Honestly, things were getting extremely bad. There was no alternative plan. It was hard for me to know, ‘Man, I worked so hard for 15 years that I could lose everything and start over again.’”
His wife suggested he induce labor. Campos had no intention of leaving Puerto Rico until he could bring his wife and child home. Their daughter, Paola, was born on Monday evening and he was able to bring them home less than 24 hours before tea time on Wednesday.
“I remember saying to my wife, ‘Can I have 20 minutes alone in the room with the baby?’ “Just holding him was so cool,” he said.
The stress I had been trying to cut for the past six months was gone and replaced with peace and joy. He then flew to Boston, arriving after midnight and sleeping in the airport until he flew to Bermuda in the morning. He arrived in Port Royal less than two hours after his tee time.
That’s usually plenty of time to prepare to tee off, except that Campos went on to talk about the birth of his young daughter. The next four days were a blur.
After making the cut, he shot a 62 in the third round to tie for the lead. And on Sunday, he held his nerve and shot a 68 to win by three. A Golf Channel reporter approached him on the 18th green and Campos was sobbing.
“I can’t believe this is happening to me,” he said.
The $1,242,000 is more than he earned in his previous 53 starts on the PGA Tour. But this wasn’t just about money. This was a lifelong dream: to become a Tour winner. He didn’t even realize he was going to Kapalua, let alone the Masters.
He recalled how when he was nine years old and his father first invited him to play golf, he thought it would take an hour or two. He dropped the kids off at the golf driving range. Six hours later, Campos was still hitting the little white golf ball. He was hooked.
And 14 years into his professional career, he became a father and won the Bermuda Championship in a week when he was afraid he would lose his job.
How did that happen?
“It’s funny how everyone says, ‘A week is enough.’ And you always believe it, but you don’t realize it. It’s true in this sport. “One week can really change your life and the life of your family.”
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AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
