Villegas caps a busy week with a 5-shot victory at The Honda Classic

Camilo Villegas shot 2-under par 68 on Sunday, capping his final round by a 20-foot birdie to beat runner-up Anthony Kim by five strokes in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

The Columbian finished at 13-under 267, the lowest 72-hole score since the Honda Classic moved to PGA National in 2007, four shots better than Y.E. Yang winning total a year ago.

“I’ve just had good vibes in me all week,” said Villegas.

After his third-place finish at the WGC- Accenture Match Play, where he missed a 3-foot putt that would have put him in the final, Villegas was my favorite last week and this week. He finished T8 last week at the Phoenix Open, slowing down on the weekend after an opening-round 62.

He closed the deal this week, and I hope you put a few bucks on him. Golf betting is a lot of fun, BetPhoenix offers you the best options and the best Bonus Packages to get the best value for your money on Sports betting.

Villegas entered the Honda as the hottest player, and almost ran away with the win on Sunday. Following a pair of 66s Thursday and Friday that gave him a share of the lead, a 67 Saturday gave him a three-shot lead going into the last round.

He led by only two after Vijay Singh made birdie at the par-3 fifth, but three straight birdies at 8, 9 and 10 sent Villegas to 15 under and six shots clear of the field.

It looked like “Spiderman” had everything under control, but bogeys at 11 and twelve – where he missed short par-putts – cut his advantage by half with the “Bear Trap” looming ahead of him.

Fortunately, none of his pursuers made a move, with Singh bogeying 15, 16, and 17 (the 3 holes of the “Bear Trap”), and Kim also making a bogey at 17.

Villegas three-putted the 15th from 50 feet, but managed to stay dry on the three demanding holes and got to the last hole with a 4-shot cushion.

He drilled his 20-fot birdie putt for a stylish finish and lifted up his arms, the first smile of the day appearing on his face, when he secured his first victory since back-to-back wins at the BMW and The Tour Championships in 2008.

Villegas new attitude toward the game- “ enjoy first” – wasn’t much on display on his last round at PGA National, as he looked all-business all day long. Even when he made his third consecutive birdie at the 10th to take a 6-shot lead he kept a steely-eye focus that helped him keep control when a couple of hiccups crept in his game at 11 and 12.

For the win, Villegas pocketed $1,008 million and 500 FedExCup Rankings points that put him in third place, 20 behind Dustin Johnson and 7 from Steve Stricker.

“It’s very special,” said Villegas. “I’m just very privileged to do what I do. But trust me, it’s tough. These guys are good. That is so true. Those guys are good.”

Kim had a 67 to finish second alone at -8, and Justin Rose with the best round of the day 64 took third place at -7. Singh tied for fourth with Paul Casey at -6.

Villegas showed up in South Florida on Wednesday and never had a practice round. After he finished in Phoenix, Villegas headed back to Colombia on Monday last week for a string of events to help open the Nationwide Tour’s Pacific Rubiales Bogota Open, the first PGA TOUR-sanctioned event in South America.

His Phone kept ringing as he was on the practice range Sunday, keeping track of his brother’s performance in the historical tournament.

With the win secured at The Honda Classic, Camilo gave one last tribute to his numerous fans watching in Colombia: “I’m sure there’s a lot of people there glued to the TV, rooting me on.”

Villegas is a national hero in Colombia, and rightly so. His brother Manuel had an excellent 4-under par final-round at the Bogota Open to finish T15.

This week the top players will battle the TPC Blue Monster at Doral for the WGC-CA Championship title in Florida, while the rest will be at the Puerto Rico Open.

Check out the odds and pairings at BetPhoenix.com Sportsbook, and join the excitement of golf betting by backing your favorite players with a wager.

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Villegas caps a busy week with a 5-shot victory at The Honda Classic

Villegas caps a busy week with a 5-shot victory at The Honda Classic

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