Camilo Villegas

Camilo Villegas (born January 7, 1982) is a Colombian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.

Villegas was born in Medellín, Colombia, and took up the game as a child. He excelled as a junior and earned a scholarship to play collegiate golf at the University of Florida. He was a three-time All American there, and was the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year in 2002 and 2004. He won the 2001 Colombian Open as an amateur.

Villegas is known for his commitment to physical fitness, and in the June 2006 issue of Golf Digest he was named "the most ripped player on tour, Tiger Woods included." [ [http://www.golfdigest.com/instruction/index.ssf?/instruction/gd200606bombers.html Golf Digest] ] He has also gained notoriety for sporting flashy dress clothing by designer J. Lindeberg.

An alumnus of the University of Florida, Villegas frequently visits the University of Florida golf course when he is spending time in his home town of Gainesville, Florida. He resides in Jupiter, Florida.

Professional career

Villegas began playing on the PGA Tour in 2004 and earned his PGA Tour card just prior to the 2006 season. He had a blistering start to his 2006 rookie year on tour, with two second place finishes and a third place (at The Players Championship) in his first nine events. He missed making the 2006 Masters Tournament in his rookie year by a single position on the Official PGA Tour Money List (11th). However, he made his first Masters' appearance in 2007 by finishing in the top 40 of the Official PGA Tour Money List for 2006. He qualified for the 2008 Masters through his exceptional play during the inaugural FedEx Cup playoff system, that included an opening round 63 (8 under par) at the Deutsche Bank Championship and three straight top 10 finishes. He entered the FedEx Cup playoffs in 52nd place and improved to 28th place through his play in the first three events, thus qualifying for the 30-man field at The Tour Championship in Atlanta, Georgia, where he finished in the top 10 for the third straight week and finished 24th on the FedEx Cup points list.

Thus far in the 2008 PGA Tour season, Villegas has achieved four top 25 finishes and three top 10 finishes, including a 3rd place finish at the AT&T Classic where he barely missed a difficult eagle putt on the 72nd hole which would have put him into a 3-way playoff with Kenny Perry and the eventual champion, Ryuji Imada. He won $374,000 and earned 1,700 FedEx Cup points for his 3rd place finish.

Villegas won his second professional event at the Coca-Cola Tokai Classic on the Japan Golf Tour in September 2007. By doing so, he earned ￥24,000,000 (approximately $208,272). He shot a score of 282 (-2) and defeated Toyokazu Fujishima in a playoff by draining a 20 foot putt on the winning hole.

Villegas won his third professional event at the TELUS Skins Game in June 2008 where he defeated a field that included Greg Norman, Colin Montgomerie, Mike Weir and "Mr. Skins", Fred Couples. Villegas took six skins for $130,000 with a short birdie putt on the 14th hole, and then won an additional four skins for $100,000 in a playoff, which was decided with a closest-to-the-pin shootout from 130 yards out on the 18th hole.

Villegas recorded a record-breaking second round in the 2008 Open Championship. He scored 65 which was the lowest at Birkdale for any second round. He started off with two bogeys but ended with five consecutive birdies which put him at 5 under for his round.

Villegas won his first PGA Tour title in September 2008, winning the BMW Championship by two shots over Dudley Hart. For the last 44 holes of the tournament, Villegas did not three putt, one-putting 27 of those last 44 holes. This victory took him to a career high of 18th in the Official World Golf Rankings. [ [http://www.owgr.com/NEWS/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=6617865&itype=421 Week 36 - Camilo Villegas Leaps into the World Top 20 with Victory at the BMW Championship] - Official World Golf Ranking, 8 September 2008]

Villegas followed his BMW Championship win with a victory in The Tour Championship. He beat Sergio García in a playoff, having trailed by five shots going into the final round. The win took Villegas to number seven in the Official World Golf Rankings. [ [http://www.owgr.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=6619374&itype=&iCategoryID=0 Week 39 - Villegas Wins The Tour Championship and Jumps to World Number 7] - Official World Golf Ranking, 28 September 2008]

Playing style

Villegas' tremendous physical power allows him to drive the ball far away from the tee box, averaging 302.1 yards in the 2006 season. He also adapts a homemade putting routine: while he reads a putt, he crouches down parallel to the ground without touching it, extending his left leg back while balancing with his right leg and his putter to get a better view of the slope of the green. He is given the nickname "Hombre Araña" (Spiderman) for this posture.

Pronouncing his name

Throughout the PGA Tour and among the media, there is a debate over how Villegas's name should be pronounced.
* According to a PGA Tour tournament starter (a person who announces the player's name at the first tee), "I pronounced it to Camilo directly to make sure I announce it correctly. His reply was, 'Thank you for someone finally getting it right on this tour.' I pronounced it with his blessing as "Ka-me-low Vee-jay-gaas". The 'v' is pronounced as in "Viva" and his last name ends like "veGAS" in "Viva Las Vegas". [ [http://www.thegolfchannel.com/core.aspx?page=8015&go=1&select=87683&dz=4F622975-5CBF-4FC9-B12D-FD22A1219072#7 The Golf Channel Forum] ]

*Golf.com suggests that his name should be pronounced "Bee-JAY-gus", and this is consistent with standard Spanish pronunciation. [ [http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1678835,00.html Camilo Villegas: The Golf Magazine interview | Tours & News | Golf.com ] ]

Equipment

Villegas is currently sponsored by the Acushnet Company and plays under the Cobra name. As of June 1, 2008, Villegas plays the following equipment;

Driver: King Cobra L4V 9°
Fairway Woods: King Cobra Speed LD F 3 & 5
Iron: King Cobra Carbon CB #3
Irons: King Cobra Pro CB 4-PW
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design 54° & 58°
Putter: Scotty Cameron Circa '62 #6
Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Amateur wins

*2003 Players Amateur

Professional wins (6)

PGA Tour wins (2)

*2008 BMW Championship, The Tour Championship

PGA Tour playoff record (1-1)

DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

References

External links

* [http://www.pgatour.com/players/02/77/70 Profile on the PGA Tour's official site]
* [http://thesandtrap.com/swing_thoughts/why_camilo_villegas_is_the_man Why Camilo Villegas is the Man]
* [http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1678835,00.html "Here comes the Spider-Man" by Connell Barrett, GOLF.com]