Villegas win caps off remarkable year
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2008 PGA Tour Championship | Round Four | 29 Sep 2008
Just three weeks after his first PGA Tour victory, Camilo Villegas has defeated Sergio Garcia at the first extra hole of the Tour Championship to win his second PGA Tour title and continue a remarkable run of form in recent months.
Villegas’ strong weekend at the PGA Championship in August, where he went from just making the cut to finish 4th, set off a run of form that has also given him a third place at the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Villegas will not only earn the US$1,260,000 first prize for this week’s victory but as a result of the win he has moved into outright second on the FedEx Cup points table and will add another US$3 million to his rapidly increasing bank balance.
Garcia earns US$619,500 for his runner up finish plus another US$2 million for finishing third on the FedEx points table.
With the FedEx Cup virtually decided before this week’s event even got underway, the tournament developed into a battle for not only this title but the huge bonuses on offer all the way down the field this week. All Vijay Singh needed to do was to turn up and avoid being disqualified and he was guaranteed the US$10 million FedEx Cup first prize. Singh played as if this was the case and finished 22nd.
While there has been much and perhaps justified criticism regarding the makeup of the field in this event, there is little doubt that the final result was a reflection of current form as four of the game’s current hottest players all had chances to win the event over the closing few holes.
Villegas fell five shots behind the lead after seven holes of his final round but five birdies in his next seven holes had him sharing the lead. A bogey at the 16th threatened to cost him not only this title but the potential second place in the FedEx Cup but a very good second to the 17th followed by a ten foot birdie putt had him back in the lead with Garcia.
Villegas was playing ahead of Garcia and found the green at the par three 18th. He two putted for par and when Garcia did the same ten minutes later, a playoff was necessary with a lot of money at stake. Villegas found the green and two putted for par while Garcia missed the green right and was faced with an impossible up and down. It proved to be that way and the title went to Villegas.
Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson finished in a share of third just one shot behind the playoff while Ben Curtis was the only other player to break par, albeit four shots behind the third placed pair.
Villegas is golf’s answer to Rafael Nadal. He is unflappable, has unbelievable raw talent, a great work ethic and a definite crowd-pleaser. He is destined to bring many young fans to the game along with creating an awareness of the game in his home country of Colombia that must surely yield results in years to come.
Villegas is now on his way to Nagoya in Japan for this week’s Tokai Classic a title which he won last year and until recently had been his only professional victory.
Stuart Appleby was the best of the two Australians in the field finishing 10th, while Robert Allenby’s last round of 76 proved very costly given what was at stake this week. After a slow start to the event Allenby had worked his way back into contention in rounds two and three but he spent a lot of money today.
The PGA Tour returns to a level of normality this week when a regular tour event, the Turning Stone Resort Championship, is played in Vernon, New York.
