Seamus Power’s love affair with Bermuda’s Port Royal Golf Club was reignited on Sunday as the Waterford man shot the lowest score of the day and climbed inside the top 25, but it was Puerto Rican Rafael Campos who had the biggest smile as he ended the week as a first-time PGA Tour winner having become a father for the first time on Monday.
Power birdied two of his final nine holes on Friday to make the cut on the number, and on yet another extremely blustery day on the Atlantic island, the 2022 tournament winner took another big step towards securing invitations to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational at Riviera.
Starting on the back nine, a birdie at the 10th was followed by an eagle-two on the 443-yard par-4 11th as the Waterford man came roaring out of the traps. Another birdie on the par-5 17th capped off a superb opening nine holes and he added two more on the front, closing out a bogey-free final round that lifted him 37 places into a tie for 23rd.
Now ranked 55th in the FedEx Fall standings, barring an unlikely turn of events at next week’s RSM Classic, he’s near certain to remain in the top 60 and feature in the second and third Signature Events of 2025.
At the business end of the leaderboard, Campos began the day tied for the lead with American Andrew Novak, both of whom were seeking their first PGA Tour victories. Campos, who entered the week ranked 147th, was all set to withdraw and likely be forced to return to the Korn Ferry Tour next season as his wife went into labour, but following the successful delivery of a baby girl, she insisted that he go back to work.
It was a tough season for Campos, who was on a run of five straight missed cuts having previously missed eight on the spin in May, June and July, but he made it to Bermuda just in time..
Five days later, he’s a PGA Tour winner and destined to make his first major appearance at next year’s Masters.
“It’s been an unbelievable week – best week of my life,” he said. “Such a bad year, and to have things go my way – everything together at once – I’m just so happy. I’m grateful to call myself a PGA TOUR champion. It’s something I’ve dreamt about my entire life.”
Campos, who finished at 19-under, earned a $1.242 million payout, a two-year exemption, and entry into the The Sentry to start the year at Kapalua, the PGA Championship and The Players Championship, along with the Masters.
Last week’s runner-up Justin Lower quickly passed the leading duo, but that changed when Campos went birdie-eagle on six and seven, while Lower four-putted for double bogey on eight and the Puerto Rican found himself in sole possession of the lead.
A bogey on nine saw him slip back into a two-way tie with Novak, but back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11 saw him open clear daylight and then it was a holding his nerve with the strong winds not allowing a moment’s respite.
He took a two-stroke lead to the 18th and a sublime up-and-down from over the back of the green sealed victory as friends rushed onto the 18th green to douse him in champagne.
“It’s been such a bad year ball-striking wise,” Campos said. “This game is so hard when things aren’t going well, so hard to actually get yourself to be confident. Things have just been so different this week. I just don’t know. I’m just so grateful.”
Novak took solo second at -16, with Belgian Adrien Dumont de Chassart one further adrift in third after a final-round of 66 that was second only to Power. Dumont de Chassart climbs to 142nd in the FedEx Rankings, meaning he has a fighting chance of keeping his card in next week’s Fall season finale in Georgia.
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