WATCH: Rafa Campos in tears after his maiden PGA Tour win at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship
Rafa Campos was in tears as he won his maiden PGA Tour event at the 2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship. The Puerto Rican golfer lifted his first Tour event trophy on Sunday, November 17, at Port Royal Golf Course. He registered an easy three-shot win over third-round leader Andrew Novak, who slipped down to second place after shooting 71 in the final round.
Rafa Campos couldn't hold back his tears while talking to the media. He described it as the best week of his life and thanked his family, fans, and coaches for their support after the win.
Speaking about his maiden win, Campos said with teary eyes:
"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.
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This victory comes after a challenging year for Rafa Campos on the PGA Tour this season. He started the season with a T20 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open, followed by a T38 at the Mexico Open and a T18 at the Puerto Rico Open. However, after a decent start, he struggled in mid-season events.
The 36-year-old missed three consecutive cuts from the Valspar Championship to the Valero Texas Open but bounced back with T14 and T9 finishes at the Corales Puntacana Championship and The CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Unfortunately, he then missed the cut in nine consecutive tournaments before tying for 13th at the Procore Championship. He again missed four straight cuts before finally clinching his maiden PGA Tour title at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
A look at Rafa Campos' Performance at the 2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship
The fall-season PGA Tour event began with the first round on Thursday, November 14. Rafa Campos had a mixed outing in the opening round. He delivered some good shots and made some birdies but also struggled on a few holes, resulting in bogeys.
He started the campaign with a bogey on the first hole and added another bogey on the fifth. However, he recovered with an eagle on the par-5 seventh, finishing with a total score of even-par. On the back nine, he scored birdies on the 12th and 13th holes but made another bogey on the 16th to post a total of 1-under 70.
In the second round, he significantly improved, delivering a bogey-free round with six birdies for a 6-under 65. Campos was particularly impressive in the third round when many golfers struggled with windy conditions.
The Puerto Rican shot a 9-under 62 with another bogey-free round, climbing nine spots on the leaderboard to tie for the lead. Finally, with a 4-under 68 in the final round, he secured his maiden PGA Tour victory. With this triumph, Rafa Campos earned $1,242,500 in prize money along with 500 FedEx Cup points.