Nobody had a bigger weekend in golf than Rafael Campos. Sure, Rory McIlroy conquered his season-long demons with a big win in Dubai, and yes, Nelly Korda made LPGA history with her seventh win of the season at The Annika, but it was Campos’ unexpected triumph at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship that meant the most.
With his newborn daughter waiting at home, Campos surged to a three-shot victory. The win catapulted Campos from 147th in the FedEx Cup standings to well inside the top 125, officially securing his PGA Tour status for 2025. That much was no surprise to the Puerto Rico-born pro, but the next bit of good news blew him away.
When you realize you get to play @TheSentry and @TheMasters …@RafaCamposGolf earned a spot in the first Signature Event and first major of the 2025 season with his win yesterday @Bermuda_Champ. pic.twitter.com/IjQ38pgyjt
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 18, 2024
Incredible stuff. At first, Campos is simply happy he doesn’t have to spend the holiday season grinding at Q-School. Then he realises he’ll be headed to the Sentry tournament in January, making the same face we’d all make if we just learned we were going on a work trip to Hawaii in the dead of the northern winter.
But then comes the big reveal. As Campos’ CPU struggles to compute everything that comes with being a card-carrying PGA Tour winner, a voice offscreen also reminds him to block out a weekend in early April for a little tournament called the Masters. “Don’t s–t me,” Campos says, the smile evaporating from his face. “Are you serious?!”
Campos is immediately rendered speechless. His mood quickly changes from happy-go-lucky to tearful.
“Stop talking to me because I’ll start crying,” he says, only half joking. He stops and stares off into nothing for a moment or two, smiling. “Golly, man. What the heck?” he mumbles to himself before shouting to his caddie standing behind him. “Cam, Cam did you hear that? We’re going…” Campos trails off again, not able to bring himself to say the words out loud, as if he might jinx it.
That’s the power of the Masters. If golf has such thing as a “Look Ma, I made it” moment, it’s that first invite to Augusta National. Campos has plenty of time to let it all sink in, but something tells us it won’t feel real until he steps onto that first tee on Thursday, April 10.
