VILLEGAS TO DEFEND TITLE AT THE HONDA CLASSIC
Camilo Villegas, who has three wins and more than $13 million in prize money in five years on the PGA TOUR, has committed to defend his title in the 2011 Honda Classic, a PGA TOUR event which will be held February 28-March 6 at PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
Villegas will again take on a strong international field on PGA National's Champion course where the stars aligned for him a year ago as he won by five strokes over Anthony Kim.
It was an improbable performance by Villegas because two days before the first round, he was in his native Columbia conducting a youth clinic and participating in festivities surrounding the Nationwide Tour event in Bogota, the first-sactioned PGA event ever in his home country. In addition to the clinic, his itinerary included social events such as a pre-tournament party.
Villegas flew into Palm Beach on Wednesday and didn't get to play a practice round. Yet there he was shooting a final round 68 on Sunday to finish at 13-under, the lowest 72-hole score since the Honda moved to PGA National in 2007 and four shots better than Y.E. Yang's winning total in 2009.
Villegas polished off his performance with a 20-footer for birdie on the final hole, then raised his hands skyward in triumph. He had led by only two after Vijay Singh made a 45-foot birdie putt at the par-3 fifth, but three straight birdies - starting with a 25-foot putt on No. 8 - sent Villegas to 15-under and six shots clear of the field. His putter failed him a bit on the back nine, but he pulled it all together for that big finale before the crowd at the 18th green
"Those finishing holes are tough," said Villegas, who won $3,035,523 in 2010 and finished 16th on the money list. "I just picked my targets, put good swings and took care of business. It's been a long week. But man, it's been a good one. I just loved every second of it."
It was the third victory of his career to go along with 2008 wins at the BMW Championship and The Tour Championship. Villegas went on to make 18 of 20 cuts in 2010 with seven top 10 finishes.
He is known as one The TOUR's most tireless workers, fitting an aggressive workout regimen into his schedule each week. Emblazoned in block letters on the wall of his home gym in Jupiter is a warning that serves as his daily reminder: SACRIFICE OR REGRET...YOU CHOOSE!
"I'm not the kind of guy who hits the snooze button in the morning," Villegas says. "But I still like to see those words when I wake up and get going. They help keep me focused on what it's all about."
He also has a strong affinity for bicycling and has been known to go on long rides from time to time.
"It is something that just gets me away from what I call the zoo - everything that happens on the PGA Tour," Villegas said. "I don't mean the zoo in a bad way. It just gets me away from my day-to-day job."
But make no mistake. Through all the fitness work, the cycling, even posing nude for ESPN The Magazine's body issue in 2010, Villegas remains focused on becoming the best golfer that he can be.
"You know, it can't be more true when they say these guys are good," Villegas said recently. "You see everybody grinding. You see everybody getting more and more in shape. You see everybody practicing harder and having more shots and the equipment getting better and all that stuff.
"That's why it's so hard to win golf tournaments. If you go down the list in the top 30, top 40, top 50 guys, guys don't win that much out here. I mean, we don't win that much out here. That shows the depth of the fields and the caliber of great players that we have on the PGA TOUR."
Last Updated: 2/17/2011 10:44:17 AM / Generated at: 2/4/2012 10:46:14 PM