Camilo Villegas leading his perfect storm of a tournament
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- In Phil Mickelson's world, a perfect golf tournament might be full of dogleg lefts and In-N-Out burgers at the turn. Miguel Angel Jimenez would be right at home with cigars on every tee box, and for Camilo Villegas, the constant tendon tearer and host of millions of double-looks, it would be the Waste Management Open.
This is an event that gave him a sponsors exemption in 2006, and he's been right at home ever since. The first time I saw Villegas at TPC Scottsdale, he was coolly hitting range balls, but he wasn't hitting range balls. He was making swings ever seven or eight minutes in between eyeing the talent that makes up this spectacular superficial event.
Girls that know nothing about golf can repeat three names -- Tiger, Phil and Camilo, even if they tend to butcher his last name. His first round 62 on Thursday, that was capped with a chip-in birdie on the last hole, tied the low opening round in the Waste Management Open and, as Camilo said after, "your lunch tastes (better)" than when he missed the bunny putt last week at the Accenture Match Play to advance to the finals over Paul Casey.
In sports, the mind needs to be on a short fuse, and for Villegas, that appears to be the case. A week after, he's the leader in the clubhouse, and the leader in most of the female fans' hearts.
Not a bad spot to be if you have a pulse.
