Winnings Ways

Last updated: 8th March 2010

CAMILO VILLEGAS - HONDA CLASSIC WINNER

In the bag

Driver - Cobra S9-1
3-wood - Cobra Speed LD
Hybrid - Titleist 909H
Irons - Cobra Pro CB
Wedges - Titleist Vokey Design spin milled
Putter - Scotty Cameron No. 6 Prototype
Ball - Titleist ProV1

Turning point

The Colombian didn't require a turning point - he just spent the week slowly grinding down the resistance of the field.

He started with a round of 66 that left him one shot behind the leader Nathan Green before a second round of 66 gave him the joint lead with fellow twenty-something Anthony Kim.

The PGA National course has a reputation for being a tough track and at the weekend the field began to wilt - but not Villegas whose Saturday 67 took him into a three-shot lead.

And when he holed a series of outrageous putts for birdie (and also to save par) on the front nine of his final round the die was cast - he was clear of the field and could afford three back nine bogies (plus two birdies) and still claim a hugely impressive five shot win.

Stats

Perhaps not surprisingly, given his domination of the field, Villegas was mightily impressive in the two most important stats of all.

He ranked second for Greens in Regulation throughout the tournament hitting three in every four he aimed at.

When he hit those greens he was also in hot enough form with the flat-stick to take advantage, averaging 1.66 putts per Green in Regulation to be second in that category too.

Those stats were also backed up by his Shotlink figures: his approach shots were finishing on average 31 feet 3 inches from the holes (seventh best in the field) and he holed a total of 413 feet 5 inches of putts (fourth best for the week).

Insight

The Colombian's third win on the PGA Tour was his first in Florida, but it should have been no surprise that he finally did triumph in the Sunshine state.

He studied at the University of Florida, resides in Gainesville and has the support of a passionate Hispanic crowd every time he tees it up in the region.

He has thrived at Doral (where he has been second and fifth), at Sawgrass (where he was third in 2006) and before at PGA National (second in 2007).

His first and second wins came back-to-back. Perhaps his third and fourth will do so as well.

In his words

Some thought - understandably - that Villegas was packing a lot of activities and expectations into last week. Having contended in Scottsdale, Arizona he flew to Colombia to help promote the Nationwide Tour event there before returning to Florida.

But the excitement seemed to fuel his effort rather than drain him and when he hit the press tent, he was ready to talk:

"Man, it's been a week. What a week. Let's go back to Monday, flying home, spending some time with my people in my country for the first Nationwide event in Colombia was awesome. It was a long day. But it was worth every second of it.

"I believe it can be a huge step for Latin American and South American golf. It's a beautiful place, full of great people, great golf courses, and the game keeps growing.

"Then we come here. This is where I live. I live 15 minutes up the road, and it was obviously great to sleep in my own bed all week. I lost in a playoff in 2007 so obviously I got a good feeling for this golf course. Didn't get a chance to play a practice round this week. I wonder if I should start doing that? Just kidding!

"I've just had good vibes in me all week. Everything's been great. I checked my phone all the time to see what my brother was shooting down in Colombia. He shot 67. So that was a good start to the day.

"I wanted to play good for myself. I wanted to play good for all of the people that came out and watched me. I have a lot of people that really care for me in this area. I want to play good for my country and that's exactly what I did. I kept my composure. I hit good shots."

He must have known he was pumped because he even added afterwards: "Well, I don't think there's any questions after all the stuff I just said!"

NOH SEUNG-YUL - MAYBANK MALAYSIAN OPEN CHAMPION

In the bag

Driver - Titleist 909D3
3-wood - Titleist 909F3
Irons - Titleist Z Muscle Forged
Wedges - Spin-milled C-C 200 series
Putter - Scotty Cameron Prototype
Ball - Titleist ProV1x

Turning point

The final three holes were key. The experienced KJ Choi entered them with a one shot lead over the two young pretenders, Noh and Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

Choi birdied the final hole to atone for his bogey on 17 which set the clubhouse target of 13-under par.

Behind him, in the final group, Aphibarnrat failed to make any headway but the young Korean Noh birdied 16 to join Choi and then completed a memorable birdie on the final hole to claim victory.

He hooked his tee shot, slashed his second amongst the stands and then contrived a recovery that Ballesteros would have been proud of.

He threaded the ball between stands, ignored the close standing gallery, refused to be intimidated by the situation or the ground that dropped away from him, flipped the ball over a bunker and watched it roll out close to the pin guaranteeing his four.

Stats

Noh's putting stats were superb all week. He finished the week ranked first for Putts per Round, helped by taking only 23 putts in the second round and 25 in the third.

That putting helped him score more birdies all week than anyone else in the field.

He also ranked fourth for Scrambling - and if anyone needed proof that he has a sharp short game, his chip on the final green provided it.

Insight

Noh now joins the ranks of the very young pretenders and his career stats make impressive reading.

He has made 40 starts on the Asian, Japanese and European Tours, gaining two wins and making the top ten 40% of the time.

Compare and contrast with the other young stars.

Rory McIlroy: 76 starts, one win, 31.6% top ten finishes.

Ryo Ishikawa: 63 starts, six wins, 30.2% top ten finishes.

Rickie Fowler: 19 starts, no win, 26.3% top ten finishes.

Danny Lee: 39 starts, one win, 10.3% top ten finishes.

Obviously the class and quality of the fields these players have competed against varies enormously, but the stats make interesting reading none the less.

In his words

After his extraordinary final hole, Noh revealed that his nearest rival might have in adversity provided the inspiration for the win.

"Coincidentally," he said, "when I was playing a practise round with K J earlier in the week he asked me when my last win was and when I told him it was in 2008 he said 'isn't it about time you won?'

"For it to happen this week, I couldn't think of a better situation. This is more special than my first win."

AROUND THE WORLD:

LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
Karrie Webb - ANZ Masters Champion

Australia's Katherine Hull and Korea's Bo-Mee Lee shot final rounds of 66 to post tournament totals of 20-under par, but both players were still left adrift of Hull's fellow Australian Karrie Webb who blitzed the Royal Pines course with a majestic 11-under par 61 that earned her a six-shot victory. Standing on the 16th tee she realised breaking 60 remained a possibility but then admitted: "I am just too tired to even think of 59."

NATIONWIDE TOUR
Steve Pate - Pacific Rubiales Bogota Open Champion

48-year-old Steve Pate became the oldest winner in Nationwide Tour history when he parred the second extra hole to defeat countryman Aaron Watkins, who three putted for bogey. A six-time winner on the PGA Tour, it was 245 starts and nearly 12 years since Pate's last win. But experience told on a course that baffled many of the youngsters with its very tight, tree-lined fairways and high altitude.

CHAMPIONS TOUR
Freddie Couples - Toshiba Classic Winner

No-one has ever doubted Freddie Couples has the swing to still compete at the highest level - he proved as much in Los Angeles and Houston last year on the PGA Tour. But when his back isn't making him cringe his putting is. However his arrival on the Champions Tour has coincided with a newfound confidence on the greens. "I've been putting well all year," he said after a second win in three starts on a Tour he may well dominate all year (if that pesky back holds up).

EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR
Boonchu Ruangkit - Brunei Senior Masters Champion

Former kick-boxer Boonchu Ruangkit (he turned to golf after losing his third bout) won his maiden Senior title when he defeated Frankie Minoza in a play-off. It wasn't the first time Ruangkit has played extra holes at the Empire Hotel course. Just seven months ago, in the Asian Tour's Brunei Open, he and Gaganjeet Bhullar were defeated by Darren Beck, but when the opportunity presented itself on this occasion he didn't fluff it, winning on the second extra hole.