Camilo Villegas
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| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Birth | January 7, 1982 Medellín, Colombia |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight | 160 lb (73 kg) |
| Nationality |  Colombia |
| Residence | Jupiter, Florida, U.S. |
| College | University of Florida |
| Career | |
| Turned Pro | 2004 |
| Current tour | PGA Tour (joined 2006) |
| Professional wins | 2 (Japan Golf Tour: 1, Other: 1) |
| Best Results in Major Championships | |
| Masters | CUT: 2007, 2008 |
| U.S. Open | T26: 2007 |
| British Open | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T23: 2007 |
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.
He 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."[1] Villegas has also gained notoriety for sporting flashy dress clothing by designer J. Lindeberg.
An alumnus of the University of Florida, he frequently visits the University of Florida golf course when he is spending time in his home town of Gainesville, Florida. Camilo resides in Jupiter, Florida.
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[edit] Professional career
He began playing on the PGA Tour in 2004 and earned his PGA Tour card just prior to the 2006 season. Villegas 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. Villegas 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. Villegas 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 two 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. Villegas 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 of 2007. By doing so, he earned ￥24,000,000 (approximately $208,272). Villegas shot a score of 282 (-2) and defeated Toyokazu Fujishima in a playoff by draining a 20 foot putt on the winning hole.
Villegas has recently climbed to a career high 52 in the Official World Golf Rankings and is currently ranked 61 through the results of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
[edit] 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" (Spider-Man) for this posture.
[edit] Pronouncing his name
Throughout the PGA Tour and among the media, there is a debate over how Camilo'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.[2]
[edit] Equipment
Villegas is currently sponsered 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
[edit] Amateur wins
- 2003 Players Amateur
[edit] Professional wins (2)
[edit] Japan Golf Tour wins (1)
[edit] Other wins (1)
- 2001 Colombian Open (as an amateur)
[edit] Results in major championships
| Tournament | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | CUT |
| U.S. Open | CUT | DNP | T59 | T26 | |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | CUT | T23 |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
