Perry holds off Weir
Kenny Perry closed with a 3-under 69 to win the Memorial with Mike Weir finishing second
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Kenny Perry closed with a 3-under 69 to win the Memorial with Mike Weir finishing second
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ST. LOUIS — Camilo Villegas gave golf fans a real reason to pay attention to him — a trophy.
A marketing dream with his model looks and stylish dress, Villegas won for the first time on the PGA Tour with three big putts on the back nine at Bellerive on Sunday for a wire-to-wire victory in the BMW Championship.
Villegas closed with a 2-under 68 for a two-shot victory over Dudley Hart, who birdied the final two holes to earn a trip to the Masters with his highest finish in two years.
Calgary's Stephen Ames finished just four strokes back after firing a 4-under 66. Mike Weir of Bright's Grove, Ont., struggled to a 5-over 75 to finish 22 strokes behind Villegas.
Stephen Ames hits his third shot on the 8th hole during the final round of the BMW Championship on Sunday at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
With one playoff event remaining, the FedEx Cup essentially is over.
Vijay Singh, who won the first two events, tied for 44th and earned enough points that all he has to do is complete four rounds at the Tour Championship in two weeks to collect the US$10-million payoff.
But the surly Singh didn't seem terribly grateful.
In a move that took some shine off the tour's new prize, Singh refused to speak to NBC Sports and walked briskly past a group of other media after finishing his round.
Villegas, a 26-year-old Colombian in his third year on tour, finished at 15-under 265 and collected $1.26 million.
"It's awesome to be here," said Villegas, who wore a solid white outfit accented by a yellow belt and painter's cap. "Hopefully, it's the first of many."
Villegas had been building toward a moment like this in the last few months. He was near the lead going into the weekend at the British Open, rallied to finish fourth in the PGA Championship, then started the final round last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship one shot behind until faltering.
He had ample opportunity to let this one get away, too.
First came back-to-back bogeys on the front nine, losing the lead to Jim Furyk. But the real test came on the back nine, when Villegas was clinging to a one-shot lead and could not reach the green on the par-4 12th after hitting into a bunker. His third shot came up 12 feet short, but he sank the par putt to keep the lead.
One hole later, he seized control.
Furyk hit his tee shot into a bunker on the par-3 13th and made bogey, while Villegas took yet another aggressive line and holed a 10-foot birdie to build a three-shot lead. Then came a 35-foot birdie putt on the 14th that sent him on his way to victory at Bellerive.
Anthony Kim rallied late to get within two shots, but he sent his approach into the bleachers on the 18th and made bogey for a 67, leaving him a tie for third with Furyk, who shot 70.