The professional was moved to miss out on his house opening. But not because of what you think

Rafael Campos competes in the Puerto Rico Open, the largest tournament in his home country, and has competed every year since he toured as a PGA in 2008.

But this year, Campos is opening up to his house.

Why? We’ll let him explain.

“[I] “Get one of the best calls I’ve received in years,” Campos said at this week’s Mexican Open. “Scottsdale Friday [two weeks ago]I was with my wife in the morning and I saw the message from Mr. Drew Donovan [who] It was the tournament director of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and it said: “Call me.”

Donovan once called Campos to offer sponsor exemptions in the API, one of the iconic events of the PGA Tour with a $20 million wallet. This is just the second signature event Campos will attend, and he will surely bring home valuable FedEx Cup points, and this huge wallet doesn’t have 36 holes.

“I started crying a little bit because it means a lot to me, to us, the Puerto Ricans mean a lot to us, just to be able to play a bigger chance in a bigger game,” Camps said, last year’s Bermuda champion. “It really motivates the younger generation to come home and realize, ‘Hey, if you put in the work, if you spend your time and really work hard, then you can really turn to those bigger and better opportunities.’’

Campos is the only member of the Puerto Rico PGA Tour and his game has been in a tough range lately.

Although he won the PGA Tour game in his 80th career in November and the victory saved his PGA Tour card, it did not translate into a consistent good form. In addition to his victory in Bermuda and a 57th screening at the Sentinels, Campos missed nine other layoffs in the last 11 games of the PGA Tour. In 2024, he made only eight of 25 layoffs, and he did not make one cut this season because the Sentinel did not lay off.

So, a few weeks ago, Campos’ Caddy stepped in.

“Until a few weeks ago, after the farmer three weeks ago, my caddies almost said, ‘Hey man, like we can’t play like this, we have to make some changes,’” said. He searched for Boyd Summerhays, one of Golf’s top 100 teachers in the United States, and attended classes with him. “It really understands why the ball is like this. A huge change was made two weeks ago, especially the way I grabbed the club and how I hope the club can exit the defender.”

Campos’ bad shape and swing changes have made sponsor invitations from Arnold Palmer’s invitational tournament, which is even more surprising, but when such opportunities bring a traveler professional like him , he must accept it.

He was excited when he shared the news with his wife.

Campos said, “I had some tears, I went in, my wife was there, she was like, ‘Hey, are you okay?”

“I thought, ‘Yes, unfortunately we can’t open Puerto Rico.’

“She’s like, ‘You’re hurt, you’re falling, what’s going on there?’

“I told her we had a spot in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.”

Campos, like many other professionals seeking sponsor exemptions to the PGA Tour event, said he has written about 150 letters to the tournament directors in an attempt to get attractions in their fields. The API’s acceptance is a few times it has actually been resolved for him.

“It’s a blessing,” Campos continued. “Obviously, this is an opportunity and we will always remember. I really want to take advantage of this opportunity, and hopefully it’s the beginning of my self-confidence and I need to start playing some good golf and hope to play in the future.”

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