Two years ago, Rafael Campos wrote a history book victory in Bermuda to keep his PGA Tour card and secure a two-year exemption. That week in Bermuda, Campos entered after missing 13 of his last 14 cuts and had his wife’s job induced on Monday that week so he could make it to one of the final events of the year in a last-ditch effort to keep his job.
But four special days in Bermuda made Campos a PGA Tour champion, giving him two years of security in the world circuit.
Things are very different now for Rafael Campos.
The good golf that he expected to flow after his first victory did not come. He made just nine of 31 cuts in 2025 and made just six of 22 cuts this season when his exemption ends. Campos entered this week’s VidantaWorld Mexico Open sitting at 168 in the FedEx Cup fall standings. With just four events, Campos knows he needs to find lightning in a bottle once to keep his job.
Campos opened his week with a one-over 72, but then put the pedal down on Friday at the Vidanta Vallarta Course. He made two eagles and six birdies, with three bogeys, to shoot a seven-under 64 and make the cut. After his return, Rafael Campos, who experienced the ecstasy of golf two years ago in Bermuda, poured out his soul on the life of the other side.
“I’m tired of playing bad,” Campos said. “Honestly, it’s been a very, very hard year. I work extremely hard and I just don’t feel good on the ball.
“Having job security is extremely big for us professionals who are not at the top right now,” he continued later. “You know, try to provide for the family. That’s all we’re focusing on right now. Yes, not having a job for next year right now is very painful. Very, very painful. I mean, very depressing to see the way I’ve been playing golf these past few years. Like I said, there are always chances. As long as there are chances at the tournaments, hopefully I’ll change our lives immediately, hopefully I’ll change a couple of years ago. to do it again, I hope soon.”
Asked what Friday’s round of 64, which put him at T34 and eight shots behind 36-hole leader Andrew Novak, can do for him, Campos kept it simple: It allows him to exhale momentarily.
“Emotions, oh my gosh,” Campos said of his run Friday to make the cut. “One, it’s a little weight off my back now. I’m in a horrible – I’m quite far (in the rankings). I understand that I have to – to keep my job again, I have to win, second only and a couple of good finishes. I only have four tournaments left. (It’s) unfortunate to put so much pressure on yourself, but I’ve changed now, and I’ve changed. I’m not giving up at any point, even if it seems quite strange, when things don’t look like it no, and when I work as you have, sometimes you don’t see that things change, but I’m really happy.
Campos was asked to reflect on the moment his life changed two years ago in Bermuda at the champagne day at the Port Royal golf course where a bleary-eyed Campos couldn’t wait to get home to celebrate with his wife and seven-day-old daughter. That day changed everything for Rafael Campos. It gave them security, the freedom to plan and the hope that something even better would come. Professional golf can provide unspeakable highs and underground lows. When your game is off, it can be cruel and unforgiving. He beat Rafael Campos for two years from his moment in the sun. But the 38-year-old still shows every day he believes that everything can change – all it takes is one swing, one feeling, one turn. The hope is that Friday’s hot match in Mexico can be such a moment for Campos as he fights the fall clock to keep his card.
“It was a life-changing moment for my family and myself,” Campos said of Bermuda. “You always have hope. Yes, it’s unfortunate that it’s my second year after the victory. I think this year was obviously better and it was even worse than the year before.
“Hopefully we’ve got a couple of days of golf left and hopefully we can start to make some progress.”
