PGA Tour's latest winner Rafa Campos admits to considering 'giving up golf'
Rafa Campos, who recently won his maiden PGA Tour event, opened up about the time when he wondered if he should quit golf and give up on the sport amid the struggles with his game. The Puerto Rican golfer started playing golf as a professional in 2011, and it took him more than a decade to win his maiden PGA Tour event.
He has won only two professional tournaments so far, one on the Korn Ferry Tour and another on the PGA Tour. His maiden win came at the 2019 The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic before he won the 2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
It has been a rollercoaster ride for the 36-year-old golfer, and recently, in an interview with PGA Tour SiriusXM Radio, Rafa Campos talked about the time when he was doubtful about his career in the sport.
Speaking of the tough time, Campos said (0.18):
"Just kindda being able to talk to myself, 'Man! Just fine, you never quit.' And I had so many times, especially the last two months, I was... I go and play with my friends... I'd be like, 'I honestly just want to give up golf. You know, I jits want to put the clubs and not even play golf anymore,' and which is pretty cool and nice to not to quit, man, and learn from that. It's a good learn for me."
Rafa Campos won the 2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship, the penultimate fall season PGA Tour event on Sunday, November 17, by three shots. After having a decent start to the game with two rounds of 70 and 65, Campos was phenomenal in the third round when he shot 62 and climbed up on the leaderboard with Andrew Novak.
Notably, both shot 62 in the rough conditions on Saturday, November 16, to take the lead ahead of the final round. However, the game came down to the final round, where Novak struggled and shot a round of even-par 71 with three bogeys and three birdies.
Rafa Campos, on the other hand, again maintained his good game even in the fourth round and shot 3-under 68 with four birdies, an eagle, and three bogeys to bag an easy win at the tournament.
Rafa Campos gets emotional as he celebrates his maiden PGA Tour win
The past week at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship was unarguably "unbelievable" for Rafa Campos. He had missed four back-to-back cuts in the fall season events before he joined the field of last week's event. But finally, he walked off the Royal Port Golf Course with a trophy in hand.
Following the win, Campos got emotional and was in tears while talking to the media. He said:
"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. My team, my coaches, my sponsors, my family.
"My caddie did a great job today. 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," he added.
This season on the PGA Tour, Campos had missed 16 cuts out of the 24 events he played. He had only made eight cuts and recorded two finishes in the top 10.