Rafa Campos leads a new edition of the Puerto Rico Open

Rio Grande. The 15th edition of the tournament Puerto Rico Openwhich will begin on Thursday and end on Sunday at the Grand Reserve Golf Club, will bring together 120 players from the PGA circuit -among them the Puerto Rican Rafael ‘Rafa’ Campos- and will have a new champion since the American Ryan Brehm will not say present.

The tournament has a purse of $3.8 million and 300 FedEx Cup points. Meanwhile, it is projected that the country will receive an economic injection of around $10 million and an occupancy rate of 2,500 rooms per night. The transmission of the event will be in charge of the Golf Channel.

But beyond the hard statistics, the joust provides a space for the Puerto Rican competitors to show off before their public.

“My expectation is to win”declared Campos, who returns to the event after finishing in a distant 59th position with the American D.J. Trahan in the last edition.

“I have never come into this tournament in such good shape, in such good mental state, in such good physical condition. Sure, I’m setting high expectations because I know I’ve spent a lot of time on it in the last four to five months. You never know what happens in golf, that I can feel excellent and that things don’t work out, but mentally I’m very positive and I feel that if I can play the game that I know I can play, at the end of the week we have a good ‘ chance’ to lift the trophy”, articulated a smiling Campos when remembering he built a work team, which includes a chiropractor, a physical trainer and a nutritionist.

The 34-year-old golfer has had very good results in previous editions of this competition. For example, in 2021 he recorded his best performance when he was in contention for the title until the last hole and finished in third position, tying with the American Grayson Murray.

Likewise, he finished eighth in 2016 and tenth in 2017. With his presence this year, he will add 13 participations.

Campos acknowledged that competing this weekend alongside the other four Puerto Rican golfers is “an honor” to compete against them and share the course. Likewise, he recalled that these players also have a social responsibility to promote the sport and inspire the youngest.

“They have the same responsibility that I have to inspire young people to play – not only golf – but any other sport because they teach many values,” said the player, referring to Puerto Ricans. Robi Calvesbert, Chris Nido, Diego Saavedra y Edward Figueroa.

In fact, Calvesbert also mentioned that he was honored with his return to the event, after having participated in the 2012 and 2017 tournaments. The athlete failed to make the cut on those two occasions.

“It is a privilege to be able to participate in this event. I am not a professional, but I represent Puerto Rico in the national team, and it has always been a dream to play at the highest level on the PGA Tour,” said Calvesbert.

Regarding his expectations, he mentioned that he hopes to make the best shots he can take.

“Whenever I focus on each shot, that’s when I play my best golf,” Calvesbert said.

Although Brehm will not defend his title because he will play in the Arnold Palmer Invitationalwhich will be held in Orlando, Florida, on the same date, the Puerto Rico Open will have five former champions in the figures of Martin Trainer (2019), D.A. Points (2017), Scott Brown (2013) George McNeill y Derek Lamela (2010).

When talking about the quality of the competition, Matt Truax, tournament director, explained that it is very similar to last year and stressed that they will have a lot of young talent. In the same way, he stressed that it is a competition that serves as a springboard for the growth of young athletes and to advance to other competitions.

“This tournament is very important for young players. There are a lot of new youngsters on the Tour, they earn points, they look for space for their next event. There is a lot of connection in what happens in this event, in San Antonio, in The Players Championship, which is played next week. If you win this event, you play Players next week and compete for a $25,000,000 purse. There is a lot of connectivity between the tournaments”, added Truax.