Watch: An emotional Rafa Campos reacts after earning PGA Tour card in miraculous fashion

Like any professional athlete, one of Rafa Campos' goals is to get to the next level. To prove himself at the highest level possible and hopefully reach his full potential. Campos took the first step toward that goal by earning his PGA Tour membership for 2024, and his reaction showed just how much effort it took.

Rafael "Rafa" Campos finished 30th in the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour points standings, earning him the final ticket to play on the PGA Tour next season. Campos had been on the verge of being left out, so finally achieving his goal brought out strong emotions.

In an interview to the Korn Ferry Tour News Service and broadcast on the Tour's social networks, Rafa Campos was seen to be very emotional, almost with tears in his eyes.

"I'm just happy I have another chance to go back to the PGA Tour and try to do as well as possible," Rafa Campos said. "Hopefully, keep doing what I'm doing, a lot of things I need to improve."

The Puerto Rican also thanked his family, his wife, his team and his sponsors. He also spoke of mixed emotions, happy for finishing 30th and sad for the player who finished 31st, two places that were decided in the last 20 minutes of the competition.

How did Rafa Campos earn his PGA Tour card?

Rafa Campos managed to return to the PGA Tour three years after playing his only full season on the circuit. He had an excellent season on the Korn Ferry Tour, which gave him the points he needed to move up a level.

Rafa Campos (Image via Getty).

In the 2023 season on the developmental circuit, Rafa Campos played 25 tournaments, made 15 cuts, had three top 10s and five other top 25s. In the four postseason tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour, he finished T26, T37, T37 and T52, in that order.

But Campos' battle to make the PGA Tour was extremely close and went down to the very last hole of the season. So much so that he slipped into the top 30, just five points ahead of Argentina's Jorge Fernandez Valdes in 31st place.

Fernandez finished T61, five strokes behind Campos, at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, the final event of the season. That gave him 5,327 points for the ranking. The Puerto Rican earned 7,933 points for his T52nd place finish, overtaking the Argentinean at the last moment.

Campos has played tournaments on the PGA Tour since 2008, but his only full season as a member was 2020-21. In that season, he played in 25 tournaments with seven cuts made, two top 10s and one top 25.

His best finish at this level was a tie for second at the 2021 Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. At the end of the season, he had to return to the Korn Ferry Tour, where he has played until now.