Sometimes success comes when you least expect it.

Last Monday, Rafael Campos’ wife gave birth to their first child. He got to hold his daughter for the first time, then took a flight to Bermuda to try to salvage his lackluster PGA Tour season — barely.

The 36-year-old Puerto Rican arrived at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship 90 minutes before his first round start time. However, it didn’t matter. Campos won his first Tour title in the penultimate event of the season, finishing at 19 under, three shots ahead of Andrew Novak.

Afterward, Campos was overcome with emotion.

“It’s been an incredible week, the best week of my life,” he told Golf Channel on the 18th green. “After such a bad year, having things go the way I want them to, having everything together at the same time, I’m so happy and grateful to have the support I give you. My team, my coaches, my sponsors, my family. My caddy did a great job today. I just can’t believe this is actually happening to me after such a year. I’m just grateful to be able to call myself a PGA Tour champion. It’s something I’ve dreamed of my whole life. I just want to call my family.

Campos entered the week ranked 147th in the FedExCup standings, with the top 125 earning their Tour cards for 2025 after this week’s RSM Classic. Now, after this victory, he has a two-year exemption and has secured a place in next year’s Masters and PGA Championship.

It’s been a tough year for Campos on the course. He was the last Korn Ferry Tour player to earn his card for 2024, finishing at 30th in the rankings. But he missed 16 cuts in 23 starts this year – including four in a row in Bermuda – and was in danger of losing his card again.

And knowing that a baby was coming increased the pressure.

“Ironically, (the bad play) started as soon as my wife told me we were pregnant after the Puerto Rico Open,” Campos said. “(Campos’ sports psychologist) said, ‘What do you think has changed?’ I said… “Now I really want to play well, I want to make money so I can give him life” – my mind completely changed. I just started focusing on the fact that, man, I want to do the best I can just to provide for him, which is a great way to think about it, but it completely took away my focus.

Now, after one of the most improbable victories of the season, Campos can breathe a sigh of relief, raising $1.242 million with the win.