Golf & Tourism Magazine July - September 2014 | Page 25

Cover Story

S
Monday is travel day. An early
flight from one South American
capital to the next, and straight
to the hotel for some much
needed rest after six
straight days of golf.
Up at 5:00 a.m. on
Tuesday for practice
day, glad-handing
sponsors at the proam on Wednesday,
and then—if he’s lucky
enough to be playing
on Sunday—four rounds
of championship golf. A few
hours to savor a top-10 finish,
or kick himself over missing out
on a top-3. Then it’s back to the
airport; rinse and repeat.

uch is the day-to-day life of
Rafael Campos, Puerto Rico’s
most accomplished golfer and
currently the Island’s only touring pro. The 26-year-old Campos plays
in the NEC Series-PGA Tour Latinoamérica, where he has established himself as one of the region’s most consistent players as he chases a singular
goal: making it to the PGA TOUR. But
while he’s lucky enough to be chasing
his dream and playing the game he
loves, he has also found that that toiling in golf’s “minor leagues” carries its
own set of challenges and requires significant sacrifice.

From Pastime to
Passion
“Rafa,” as he is affectionately and universally known, played golf for the first
time at age nine during a family outing.
He initially saw the game as a fun activity to enjoy with his relatives; he loved
being out on the course, especially,
with his brother and cousins. Campos
soon got involved in the Puerto Rico
Golf Association’s (PRGA) junior program, and just a couple of years after
he first picked up a club he was already
playing in international tournaments.
It was during one of those events that
an 11-year-old Campos first started to
think about golf as more than an enjoyable pastime. It was a pivotal moment
that, a decade and a half later, he still
recalls with remarkable accuracy.
“I remember when I made the Caribbean (Junior Championships) team and, in
my third round, I broke 80 for the first
time: 40 and 38,” says Campos, quoting his exact scores in the front and
back nine. “I think that motivated me
and I thought, ‘OK, this is something I
want to continue doing.’”
Campos went on to have a stellar junior
career in the PRGA, and had the opportunity to play college golf at Virginia
Commonwealth University. He showed
his talent at VCU, winning a couple of
tournaments and receiving all-state
and all-conference honors as a senior.
That success served as additional motivation, but according to Campos the
biggest lessons came when things did
not go his way.

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