Weekly PGA Recap: Campos Becomes Champ

This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.

Maybe the greatest thing about sports, the reason we watch, is that no one knows what will happen. We simply cannot predict what will happen, even when we are certain what will happen -- and what can't possibly happen.

Entering the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, Rafael Campos had made only six cuts all year and just one in the past six months. He went off at 300-1, and even that seemed generous.

But when the dust settled on the PGA Tour's penultimate tournament of 2024, the little-known 36-year-old from Puerto Rico was the surprise winner, by three strokes over Andrew Novak.

The victory completed a whirlwind week for Campos, who became a first-time father just six days earlier and arrived on the island at the very last minute -- like, Thursday morning.

"It has been a surreal week," Campos told reporters in Bermuda. "Probably the best day of my life is or was on Monday. Just couldn't believe that my wife did such a great job and we were able to conceive a baby. Yeah, we kind of knew there was a chance I was going to get here and I was very fortunate none of the flights got delayed and was able to get here on property like at 11:30 and I think I had a 12:58 tee time, so plenty of time." 

Maybe Campos should try arriving on site an hour before his tee time every week, because he had never won in 79 previous PGA Tour starts, which of course isn't even a lot for someone in his mid-thirties. Yes, Campos had been toiling on lesser tours for years, mostly the Korn Ferry for the past decade, during which he won in the Bahamas in 2019. His previous best finish on the PGA Tour was runner-up at Puntacana in 2021, so clearly the Caribbean agrees with him (as do weak fields, snark).

Now, Campos will play exclusively on the PGA Tour in 2025, having secured his card for the next two years. He will play in the Masters in April, and that will be his first major. That's a far cry from last year, when he was the 30th and final KF grad to make the jump to the big tour.

"For me, honestly, like I said before, the most important thing for me was job security," he said. "That's something we struggle here on the PGA Tour with because it's so hard to get up here and it's so easy to lose everything. I've been a pro for 15, 16 years and this year was honestly the first time that I probably would have had zero status anywhere, like if I had not done well this week. …

"That is the most important thing right now for me. And I just cannot believe that I can go next week to RSM and know that I don't have to worry about having a job coming January. That's the most important thing for me."

Also of great importance to Campos was that he became the first PGA Tour winner from Puerto Rico since the late Chi Chi Rodriguez in 1979.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Andrew Novak
Novak had been having an outstanding season even before his runner-up. He entered with four top-10s, 11 top-25s and only six missed cuts. Novak is ranked top-20 in both Strokes Gained: Approach and Tee-to-Green, and 22nd in the all-encompassing SG: Total. He's also not a bad putter, so it's a bit of a wonder he hasn't had a better season than he's had.

Adrien Dumont de Chassart
This has been a disastrous rookie season for the young Belgian, despite predictions of success from one obviously misinformed scribe. Dumont de Chassart tie for third, just his third top-25 during a season in which he has missed 15 cuts. With the big finish, he still sits well outside the top 125 at 142nd. 

Mark Hubbard
Hubbard also tied for third, a vitally important result as he now sits 63rd in the standings heading into the RSM. It was his first top-10 since Pebble Beach in January (not including the Zurich).

Vince Whaley
Whaley had traditionally played Bermuda well and it happened again -- at just the right time. Entering the week 123rd in points, Whaley tied for fifth to move safely to 113th.

Justin Lower
Last week's runner-up held the Bermuda lead for a big chunk of the week, only to falter with a 1-over 72 on Sunday that left him tied for fifth. Still, top-5s two weeks in a row is awesome, especially for someone who had never done it before.

Ben Griffin
Griffin finished solo eighth, and that should be enough to secure Next 10 status for him for next season. He moved from 58th in points to 56th.

Troy Merritt
Merritt tied for 12th, which moved him from 156th in the standings to 146th, which will ensure him no worse than conditional status for 2025.

MISSED CUTS

Nick Taylor continued his second-half swoon. Joel Dahmen was fortunate not to fall out of the top-125, dropping from 121st to 124th. The RSM will be a stressful week for the fan favorite.

FEDEXCUP STANDINGS

With Campos jumping from 147th in points to 80th, he was among three guys who moved inside the top-125 with just one week left in the season. Sam Ryder tied for fifth, going from 127th to 124th. Wesley Bryan, who has been soaring all fall after struggling all season to simply get into fields, tied for 17th to move from 128th to 125th. Both Ryder and Bryan remain in precarious positions heading into the RSM Classic.

Dropping out of the top-125 were Henrik Norlander (T57, now 126th), Daniel Berger (T62, now 127th) and Hayden Springer (T37, now 128th).

As for the Next 10 from 51st to 60th, there was one change.. Nico Echavarria tied for 29th inch ahead from 61st to 59th, dropping Kevin Yu, who missed the cut, to 61st. 

DP WORLD TOUR

Rory McIlroy completed an arduous season on a very happy note, winning the DP World Tour Championship for his sixth European season-long title. That tied the late Seve Ballesteros for second most all-time behind Colin Montgomerie's eight.

McIlroy won for the third time in 2024, but his year will be remembered for his failure to close out the U.S. Open in a bitter defeat to Bryson DeChambeau. McIlroy also had filed for divorce from his wife Erica, but they reconciled and she and their 4-year-old daughter were on hand for his joyous win.

"I've been through a lot this year professionally, personally. It feels like the fitting end to 2024," said McIlroy, who also is one month into a swing change that seems to be taking quite nicely. "You know, yeah, look, I've persevered this year a lot. Had close calls. Wasn't able to get it done."

The completion of the DP World Tour season also finalized the 10 players who will gain PGA Tour cards for 2025. This past year, Matthieu Pavon and Robert MacIntyre turned their opportunity into career-altering victories that ensured extended status in the States.

The 10 players with dual tour membership are led by Rasmus Hojgaard, who was runner-up to McIlroy and will now join his twin brother Nicolai Hojgaard on the PGA Tour. Shane Lowry, Adam Scott and Antoine Rozner tied for third.

Rozner also gained PGA Tour membership, along with Thriston Lawrence, Paul Waring, Jesper Svensson, Niklas Norgaard, Matteo Manassero, Thorbjorn Olesen, Rikuya Hoshino and Tom McKibbin.