Rafael Becker Wins World Par 3 Championship
Rafael Becker — a 24-year-old golfer from Sao Paulo, Brazil — has won the Grey Goose World Par 3 Championship, which took place at the Fairmont Southampton’s Turtle Hill Golf Club.
Becker admitted that he hasn’t been having fun on the golf course for the last couple years. But on this warm Saturday afternoon in Bermuda, he could finally let his guard down and smile again after winning the Grey Goose World Par 3 Championship.
“I’ll be very honest with you; the last couple years have been tough and I haven’t been having very much fun playing golf,” said the former three-time Brazilian Amateur winner. “Part of the reason I came to Bermuda this week was to chill out, enjoy this island paradise and try and find a little bit of myself again.”
Becker’s two-day total of 4-under-par, 104 at the Fairmont Southampton’s Turtle Hill Golf Club was one shot better than European golfing great Barry Lane and two shots better than Americans Zack Byrd, Charlie Winegardner and Bermudian favourite Michael Sims.
With the win, Becker netted a first place payout of $10,000 [USD].
“I haven’t won in a while, so it was nice to get out there this afternoon and get the adrenalin going again because I really like that feeling,” Becker said. “Financially this win is going to help me a lot because it’s expensive to travel around the world chasing golf tournaments,” Becker said. “
This week was Becker’s maiden voyage to the island of Bermuda and said he’ll definitely be coming back again to the place he described as paradise thanks to it’s gorgeous scenery and friendly locals.
“From the moment I arrived at the airport I’ve felt very welcomed,” Becker said. “It’s said that Brazilian people are really warm and welcoming, but Bermudians might be even more so.”
In addition to the professionals in the championship, the 150-player field is rounded out by an impressive list of amateur golfers—from Bermuda, the United States, Canada and Europe—vying for titles in the men’s, women’s and senior amateur divisions.
Canadian TJ Rule captured the men’s amateur title with a two-day total of even-par, 108, nine-shots better than Bermudian Mark Phillips. Bermuda native Ebonie Burgess won the women’s amateur division, while Craig Christensen won the senior men’s division.
For the full leaderboard, click here.
Past champions of the Grey Goose World Par 3 Championship include Bermudian Daniel Augustus, PGA Tour winner Nick Taylor, PGA of Canada member Ian Doig, American Jordan Mitchell, Mark Mouland of the European Senior Tour and Thomas Curtis.
