Camilo Villegas

Camilo Villegas's Early Life and Background

Villegas was born on January 7, 1982, in Medellín, Colombia. He won multiple National Junior Championships in Colombia between the ages of 8 and 15.

In 1998, he made golf history in Colombia by becoming the first player to win the Amateur's Grand Slam in one year, at the age of 16; he won the National Junior Championship, the National Amateur Championship, and the Colombian Open in the Amateur division.

Then, in 2001, he became the second player in history to win the Colombian Open while still an amateur. The Colombian Golf Federation gave him the "Player of the Decade" honor for his performance in the 1990s.

Camilo Villegas's Amateur Career

Villegas earned an athletic scholarship to play men's golf for head coach Buddy Alexander's Florida Gators in the NCAA tournaments from 2001 to 2004 at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.

He won the SEC Player of the Year award in 2002 and 2004, the SEC Freshman of the Year award in 2001, and four straight All-American honors (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004) during his collegiate golf career. In 2004, Villegas earned a bachelor's degree in business administration.

Villegas claims that golf legend Gary Player is his mentor and source of inspiration. Together, with Gary Player, he starred in a "priceless" MasterCard commercial. The June 2006 issue of Golf Digest called Villegas "the sexiest player on tour, Tiger Woods included."

He has also become well-known for his dress pieces by J. Lindeberg. A University of Florida alumnus, Villegas usually spends time at his Gainesville, Florida, home at the university's Mark Bostick Golf Course. Manuel, his younger brother, is a current member of the Korn Ferry Tour after having played for the University of Florida as well.

Camilo Villegas's Professional Career

Prior to the 2006 season, Villegas received his PGA Tour card, having started playing on the tour in 2004. In his first nine events of the 2006 tour rookie season, he finished third (at the Players Championship) and in second place twice. In his debut year, he almost missed making the 2006 Masters Tournament, finishing just one spot (11th) behind the cutoff on the PGA Tour money list.

Finishing in the top 40 on the PGA Tour money list for 2006, he qualified for his first Masters appearance in 2007. He made it to the 2008 Masters via his first FedEx Cup playoff system, which featured three consecutive top-10 performances and an opening-round score of 63 (8 under par) at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

After winning his first three events, he rose to 28th place in the FedEx Cup playoff rankings, earning a spot in the 30-man field at the Tour Championship in Atlanta, Georgia. He had begun the playoffs ranked 52nd. There, he moved up to 24th on the FedEx Cup points list and finished in the top 10 for the third straight week.

At the Japan Golf Tour's Coca-Cola Tokai Classic in September 2007, Villegas captured his second professional victory with a final-round score of 282 (−2) and won the match via a playoff against Toyokazu Fujishima, which he won with a 20-foot putt on the final hole. In June 2008, Villegas defeated a field that included Colin Montgomerie, Greg Norman, and Fred Couples to win his third professional event at the Telus World Skins Game.

Villegas broke all previous records in the 2008 Open Championship second round. At Royal Birkdale, he recorded the lowest score of any Open Championship second round with a score of 65. He made five straight birdies at the end to finish his round at five under, having opened with two bogeys. In September 2008, Villegas defeated Dudley Hart by two strokes to win the BMW Championship, which marked his first victory on the PGA Tour.

Villegas won the Tour Championship after winning the BMW Championship. After trailing by five strokes into the championship round, he overcame Sergio García in a playoff match. Villegas became the highest-ranked South American player in the Official World Golf Rankings after his victory, shooting to a career-high 7th place.

Villegas joined the European Tour in late 2008, competing in the 2008 HSBC Champions, the opening event of the 2009 season, for the first time. He did, however, still perform mostly in the United States. Although he did not win in 2009, he finished the season in the top 30 of the European Tour's Race to Dubai and 45th on the PGA Tour money list.

Since 2008, he has been in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings for more than 30 weeks, with a career-high ranking of 7th. Villegas made an extremely uncommon albatross (double eagle) at the 2009 Chevron World Challenge by hitting a 262-yard second shot into the hole on a 568-yard par 5.

Villegas won the Honda Classic in March 2010 by a margin of five strokes over Anthony Kim, earning him his third victory on the PGA Tour. He declined to continue playing on the European Tour, and due to a decline in his game in 2012, he was forced to attend the PGA Tour's qualifying school at the conclusion of the season and ended up finishing 144th on the money list. Villegas participated in the 126–150 division on the PGA Tour in 2013 with conditional status; however, he was unable to regain his Tour Card.

Based on sponsor exemptions, former titles, and priority ranking, he was granted admittance due to his status. He placed 110th in the FedEx Cup, which allowed him to regain full privileges for 2014. Villegas's victory at the Wyndham Championship in 2014 marked his first Tour victory in over four years.

Before the FedEx Cup playoffs, the victory put him in 37th place in the 2014 FedEx Cup. Villegas's victory gave him a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour until the 2015–16 season, as well as an invitation to the 2015 Masters Tournament.

Villegas withdrew from the Rio Olympics in July 2016 in order to focus on the PGA Tour and earn a spot for the 2016–17 campaign. He also cited fears about the Zika virus as another reason for pulling out of the Olympics.

Villegas only competed as a previous champion in the 2016–17 season after failing to win back his Tour card. In the end, he performed well enough to be reinstated on the PGA Tour for the 2017–18 season.

Villegas won the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in November 2023, his first PGA Tour victory since 2014. He was ranked 223rd at the beginning of the FedEx fall season. He was ranked 147th after a T2 at the World Wide Technology Championship; however, he ended up 75th in the final standings after winning in Bermuda.

Camilo Villegas's Playing Style

Villegas is frequently compared to Spider-Man because of his unusual method of scanning greens before putting. His head and torso are nearly touching the ground as he leans all the way to the putting surface, stretching out his left leg and maintaining his balance on his right, from which he analyzes his putts.

Camilo Villegas's Caddie

Camilo Villgas’ caddie is Jose Luis Campra.

Jose Luis Campra, also known by his friends as "Pepa," attended the same Cordoba school as Eduardo Romero and Angel Cabrera. After earning a degree in finance from Jacksonville State in Alabama, he wanted to play. However, a few unsuccessful years on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica and Challenge Tour advised him to go in another direction.

Though caddying helps pay the bills, teaching has always been his dream. In Argentina, Campra oversees an academy. He has caddied for Scott Piercy, Emiliano Grillo, Cabrera, and Sebastian Munoz, and has been friends with Villegas and his brother Manny for a long time.

The last time he would have seen Villegas was when he and Munoz were at Torrey Pines in January. Before joining LIV Golf, Munoz competed in this final PGA Tour event.

Villegas hit a bullet with almost little spin from right to left for over ten years. Campra suggested a fade with a higher launch angle. Due to the drastic change, Campra was concerned Villegas could wish to step down after a few months. So that he could at least assess Villegas's degree of confidence, he requested that Villegas call him twice a week.

Camilo Villegas's Golf Journey

Camilo Villegas, born in 1982 in Medellín, Colombia, won many national junior titles and made golf history in 1998 by completing the Amateur's Grand Slam at the age of 16. He excelled in his amateur career, earning an athletic scholarship to the University of Florida, where he received multiple wins.

Villegas soon established himself on the professional circuit, winning 11 professional wins. He is known for his Spider-Man-inspired putting stroke and continues to compete, winning his most recent PGA Tour event in November 2023, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Camilo Villegas's Achievements

Camilo Villegas’s achievements are as follows:

• Villages joined the PGA Tour in 2006 and has made the cut in 248 of 397 events. He finished runner-up five times, with seven third-place finishes, 21 top-5s and 42 top-10s.

• Villages has 11 professional wins, five on the PGA Tour, one on the Japan Golf Tour, one in South America (amateur) and five others.

Camilo Villegas's Majors

Camilo Villegas's Awards and Honors

Camilo Villegas hasn’t won any awards or honors as of March 2024.

Camilo Villegas's Net Worth

Camilo Villegas’s net worth is available, but as per Spotrac, his career earnings are estimated to be $25 million, including $2 million from his unofficial events and $23 million from his official events.

In the 2023 season, he earned $1.95 million, and as of March 2024, he had earned $94,964 from three tournaments in which he made the cut out of eight total.

Camilo Villegas's Ventures

Camilo Villegas reportedly has endorsement deals with J. Lindeberg and Nike; however, his income from them is not known.

Camilo Villegas's Assets

Camilo Villegas resides in Jupiter, Florida, in the U.S., with his family. However, an exact address is not available.

Camilo Villegas's Family

Camilo Villegas's parents are Fernando and Luz Marina Villegas. His father is a businessman and his mother is a housewife. However, no further information is available about it.

Camilo Villegas's Wife

Maria Ochoa Mora and Camilo Villegas were married in 2014. They have been friends since they were 12 years old.

Mia Villegas, the couple's daughter, was born in September 2018—four years after they were married. Unfortunately, after battling cancer, the child passed away in July 2020 at the age of just 22 months. The Villegas family was consequently devastated for a very long time. In December 2021, the couple had a son, Mateo Villegas.

Maria is the president of the non-profit Mia's Miracles Foundation, which she and Camilo Villegas established following the untimely death of their daughter. It gives little favors to kids and families in difficult circumstances.

Along with her sisters Manuela, Amelia, and Elisa, Maria is also a co-founder of the Columbia-based nonprofit Sister Sister. She also works as a fitness coach.

Camilo Villegas's Cars

There is no information available regarding the car collection of Camilo Villegas.