Tiger Woods is always going to have the spotlight on him. That means whoever is in his group is going to have extra eyes on them as well.
For the first two days of the Masters, Woods played alongside Jason Day and Max Homa. The five-time Masters champion managed to make the cut for the weekend, marking his 24th consecutive made cut at Augusta and cementing himself in Masters history.
With the field cut down for Round 3, the majority of the groups go from three golfers to just two. For Saturday, the man playing alongside Woods is Camillo Villegas.
Here is more to know about Villegas and his background.
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Who is Camillo Villegas?
Villegas, 42, was born in Medellín, Colombia. He took up golf as a child, and it took little time for him to make a name for himself in his home country. He won several National Junior Championships in Colombia between the ages of 8 and 15. And at 16 years old, he became the first player in Colombian golf history to win the Amateur’s Grand Slam in the same year.
He made the move to the United States in 2001 when he accepted a golf scholarship to play at the University of Florida. During his four years with the Gators, Villegas won the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2001 and the SEC Player of the Year in 2002 and 2004, and he was named an All-American for four consecutive years (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004).
Villegas has been playing on the PGA Tour since 2004, and he earned his PGA Tour card ahead of the 2006 season. He earned his first professional win in September 2008, when he won the BMW Championship. He followed that up three weeks later with a win at The Tour Championship.
Since his two wins in 2008, Villegas has won just three times on the tour. He finished first at the 2010 Honda Classic and then again the 2014 Wyndham Championship. Villegas then went nearly a decade without a win on the PGA Tour before he broke the lengthy streak at the 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
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Camillo Villegas family
Villegas is married to his wife, Maria. The couple had a daughter, Mia, born in 2018; she died in 2020 after a battle with brain cancer. The couple also have a son, Mateo, born in 2021.
The pro discussed his daughter’s death in an article for The Players’ Tribune. In the piece, Villegas talked about how hard it was to go through the tragic circumstances, but he did reveal how the golf community rallied around them.
“I know many of you know her story. We lost our little angel in July of 2020. Mia was diagnosed earlier that year with brain cancer. She battled so hard. And she showed us a strength we never knew existed. But it was time for her to rest.
“In the five months during her fight, the support we received from everyone, including the golfing world, was incredible. I spoke to Jack and Barbara Nicklaus right away when Mia was diagnosed, and they did everything they could to help. They arranged everything for us at the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami. I’m very thankful to them. The hospital staff were unbelievable, and even during our absolute darkest period, I can still think back and see the light in the people who were around us. Out of that, Mia’s Miracles was born. Her life was a miracle to us, and her time with us was a gift. And Maria and I wanted her legacy to live on. So her foundation will help children and their families going through similar situations, and make sure they have all the help they need.”
Has Camillo Villegas won a major?
Despite his lengthy time on the PGA Tour, Villegas has never won a major.
The Colombian’s best finish at a major came in 2008, when he finished in a tie for fourth at the PGA Championship. That same year, he had his best finish at the U.S. Open, ending in a tie for ninth.
Villegas’ has never cracked the top 10 at Augusta. The highest he has finished at a Masters tournament came in 2009, when he shot 6 under to finish in a tie for 13th. His best finish at The Open Championship also came in 2009, where he placed in a tie for 13th at St. Andrew’s.
Camillo Villegas Spider-Man putting
During his time on the golfing scene, Villegas has picked up the nickname “Spider-Man” due to his unique approach to reading greens.
If you watch Villegas analyze his putting strategy, it is not uncommon for the Colombian to get low to the ground, sticking his leg out to the side that is similar to the Marvel superhero. Villegas details the origin of the approach in a 2022 article on Golf Digest.
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“So, 2005, Korn Ferry Tour, I wasn’t putting great,” Villegas said. “I always liked when the green was kind of elevated and you could get yourself in a bunker and you see the line like so good, or just off the green. And I have like a 10, 15-footer, and I started getting lower and lower and lower. I’m not even thinking about what I’m doing. And I ended up somewhat in that position and I made a 15-footer.
“A couple holes later, I have a putt that’s very, very straight. So I’m like, man, let’s get lower again, let’s check this putt out. And I started getting lower and I ended up in that position. I made the putt again. So people think it was something that I thought about, to do it, and it wasn’t. It just came natural. I made a few putts. I used it on very, very straight putts. And then, to be honest, when my agent Clark Jones saw, he said, whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. It worked for a while.”
Camillo Villegas pronunciation
There has been much discourse throughout Villegas’ career about the pronunciation of his name. In interviews and clips with Villegas himself, this is how his name has been pronounced, which is more in line with the Spanish version of the name rather than the English.
The phonetic pronunciation is: “kah-MEE-lo bee-JAY-ghaas”
