Villegas maintains his cool to match Nicklaus’ biggest ever win at the Honda Classic

Colombian hotshot Camilo Villegas is warming up nicely for a shot at Major glory after storming to victory in the
Honda Classic.

Villegas sealed a record-tying win at the PGA National for his first title in over 18 months. And with the WGC-CA  Championship up next at Doral this week, and the Masters just a month away, the 28-year-old, who lost in the semi-finals of the WGC Matchplay two weeks ago, is finding form at the right time.

But Villegas admitted his Honda triumph had been a lot harder than it looked.

He went on a birdie blitz at the start of his final round on Sunday, firing three in a row to take a commanding six-stroke lead with only eight holes left.

But he then bogeyed 11, 12 and 15 before a long birdie putt on the last saw him end on 13-under, five strokes clear of Anthony Kim.

The resounding victory equalled Jack Nicklaus’ record five-shot win at the event in 1977, but Villegas admitted afterwards that he nearly bunkered his chances of a first trophy since the 2008 season-ending Tour Championship.

“Tournaments are four rounds and I played three pretty good ones,” he said. “I was lucky in one. It’s never as easy as you think. I played great through the front nine, then I made a couple of hiccups and missed some putts, but I stayed patient.
“It’s been a long week,” added Villegas, who moves up nine places to No.12 in the world rankings.

“But it’s been a good one and I’ve loved every second.”

Villegas had started the week travelling from the Phoenix Open back to his homeland, where he launched the Nationwide Tour’s Bogota Open, the first PGA Tour-sanctioned event in South America.

He arrived in south Florida on Wednesday and didn’t even have a practice round before hitting the fairways.

Two rounds of 66 fired him into the lead and a 67 on Saturday teed up his third PGA Tour crown. However, Villegas refused to blame his hectic schedule on his stuttering finish.

“It has been a long week, but man has it been a good one,” he explained. “I loved going back home, then coming out here and taking care of business.

“The win’s very special.

“I’m just very privileged to do what I do.

But trust me, it’s tough.

These guys [on tour] are good.”

Meanwhile, American ace Kim believes his second place at the weekend proves he is right on track to start challenging
for titles again.

The 24-year-old has struggled in the past year with a series of niggling injuries, but is convinced his runner-up spot shows he can finally add to his two tour wins.

“To be healthy and making some birdies feels good,” said Kim.

“I’m working on the right things and I’m sure it will come.”