New dad Rafael Campos shares PGA Tour lead in Bermuda

[Pelican Press 0]

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New dad Rafael Campos shares PGA Tour lead in Bermuda

Five days after the birth of his first child, Rafael Campos is in position for another big moment as he shares the lead going into the final round of the PGA Tour’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

The 36-year-old from Puerto Rico shot a personal best with a nine-under 62 on Saturday to share the lead with Andrew Novak on a day when the wind became ferocious toward the end of the round at Port Royal.

Justin Lower, who began the blustery day with a 62, drove into the water on the par-5 18th and scrambled for a bogey for a 68 to finish one shot behind.

Campos and Novak were at 16-under 197, both searching for their first victory. The timing couldn’t be better in so many ways for Campos.

He is No 147 in the FedEx Cup with one tournament remaining to try to get into the top 125 and keep full status for next year. And then his wife gave birth to their daughter Paola Isabel on Monday.

There was no discussion about Campos playing. His job was at stake, which led them to induce labour. And he said it eased some of the stress he has been feeling after missing four straight cuts as his ranking kept falling.

“My wife is extremely understanding on where I’m standing on the FedEx, first of all,” he said, struggling to keep his emotions in check.

“The whole process of trying to induce labour on Monday was for me to try to get to the tournament, so we were always looking to try to see if I can make it here.”

They got home from the hospital at about 5pm on Wednesday.

“I held my daughter. I thought in like 20 minutes I had to go to the airport,” he said. “I do want to provide for them as much as I can, so we’re here and fortunate everything went well. It’s a bonus that I’m doing well this week.

“I had a daughter on Monday and it doesn’t matter if I play bad, they don’t care.

If I end up losing my job, I lost my job and I’ve got a beautiful daughter and beautiful wife back home just waiting for me to hopefully give ’em a hug. Hopefully I have a good day tomorrow and we’ll see how we end up.””

It went great on Saturday in the strong wind, which Campos enjoys.

He chipped in for birdie on the 15th, holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the scary par-3 16th, got up-and-down with another tester of a birdie putt on the 17th and held on for par on the closing *****.

Lower is coming off a runner-up finish last week in Mexico. He also is going for his first PGA Tour win, which feels even more critical with the PGA Tour likely to reduce exempt status to the top 100 players starting in 2026.

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