Wesley Bryan’s eyes were feeling a little heavy Saturday afternoon in Southampton, Bermuda, as he talked reporters through his course record-tying round. He had stayed up too late, wanting to catch Netflix’s Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight, which didn’t finish until around 2 a.m. local time.
“It was one of those spectacle events that I just felt I needed to watch,” Bryan said.
When Bryan woke up, he realized he was in for a fight of his own.
When Bryan teed off Saturday morning just after 7:30 a.m. at Port Royal Golf Course, winds were already gusting 30 mph. Yet Bryan rolled with the punches. He birdied each of his first two holes, starting at the par-4 10th, and added two more plus an eagle to cap a back-nine, 6-under 29. The front featured more of the same, no bogeys, two more birdied and an additional eagle as Bryan carded a 10-under 61.
Bryan’s sizzling round, which tied Taylor Pendrith and Alex Noren for the course record, vaulted him 42 spots on the Butterfield Bermuda Championship leaderboard, to solo fourth at 13 under, just three shots back of co-leaders Andrew Novak and Rafa Campos, who each fired 62 after tee times were pushed way up to avoid an afternoon where wind gusts were forecasted to get into the 50s.
“I felt like these type of conditions – really for my entire golfing career – I’ve really enjoyed wind,” Bryan said. “It just brings out a little bit more creativity, so I do enjoy the wind. Then today, I mean, nobody knows when a 61’s going to come. That’s just kind of a career day. Hopefully we can get in the mix tomorrow on the back nine. That would be the ultimate goal.”
Bryan is among a few players in contention who began the week around the top-125 bubble in the FedExCup standings. He is No. 128, though he’s currently projected to jump to No. 112. No. 156 Troy Merritt (T-5) and No. 136 Sam Ryder (T-5) are projected to rise to Nos. 139 and 124, respectively, while No. 125 Hayden Springer (T-8) would move to No. 121 if scores ended where they are now.
Campos also is fighting for his job. The 36-year-old veteran from Puerto Rico is playing out of the reorder category this season, and like many who started the year deep in that category, Campos struggled to get starts early in the season. He made three straight cuts to start but still only got into two events the first two months of the season.
This week marks Campos’ 24th start of the year, and he was No. 147 points before teeing off on Thursday. A win would rocket him to No. 80 and not only lock up his card but give him an outside chance to crack the Aon Next 10 next week at the fall-ending RSM Classic.
Campos’ points battle was a big reason why he and his wife, Stephanie, decided to induce labor on Monday, between tournaments in Cabo and Bermuda. The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter, that day, and two days later, at 5 p.m. Wednesday, they got home from the hospital in Puerto Rico. About a half-hour later, Rafa Campos was flying to Bermuda, where he arrived early Thursday morning, right before his 11:58 a.m. tee time.
“Honestly, the only thing that’s keeping me balanced right now is my family,” Campos said. “I’m in a really tough spot right now on the FedEx, I did not want to be in this position. I want a job for next year, I really do, but I’ve put a lot of pressure and stress and just everything the last like six months. I think really everything has changed this week not because I’m playing well, it’s just I had a daughter on Monday and it doesn’t matter if I play bad, they don’t care. You know, my wife doesn’t care, my daughter won’t care. So, at the end of the day if I end up losing my job, I lost my job, and I’ve got a beautiful daughter and beautiful wife back home just waiting for me to hopefully give ‘em a hug.”
Campos’ only world-ranked win came on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019, when he won in the Bahamas in similar windy conditions. When he looked out his hotel window on Saturday morning, he was reminded of that victory.
“I remember the last day waking up, sitting down outside and just looking at the wind, and all I kept on telling me is, man, I don’t want to go out there and play, it’s just too mentally draining, and I ended up winning,” Campos recalled. “All I thought about was like, hey, you’ve played in the wind. It was very windy today, especially at the end, but it does give me confidence. The harder it gets, the better it is for me, I believe. I have to admit I’m not the best ball-striker, but I can move my way around the course trying to keep trajectories down and all those things.
“So yeah, I was looking forward to a big test today.”
Like Bryan, Campos went bogey-free while rattling off nine birdies. This is his third time holding at least a share of the 54-hole lead.
On Sunday, Campos and his fellow competitors will get less wind – 15-25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph – but more rain (45%).
“I love it when we have to suffer; I think that’s the whole point of golf, to tell you the truth,” Campos said. "... I think the weather tomorrow’s also going to be windy, so let’s go suffer again.”
