Camilo Villegas bounced back from his disappointment at last week’s WGC Match Play Championship, firing a nine-under 62 on Thursday to seize the lead in the USPGA Tour’s Phoenix Open.
The 28-year-old Colombian, who missed a three-foot putt that would have put him in the Match Play final last weekend, tied the tournament’s first-round record and had a one-shot lead over Matt Every of the US, once Villegas’ teammate at the University of Florida.
England’s Justin Rose, Mark Wilson, Japan’s Ryuji Imada, Rickie Fowler and Pat Perez were three strokes back on 65 in superb conditions at TPC Scottsdale.
Phil Mickelson and defending champion Kenny Perry were in a bunch on 68, while WGC Match Play champion Ian Poulter of England struggled to a 72.
Villegas teed off on 10 and capped his round by chipping in from 21 feet on the par-four ninth for his ninth birdie.
The Colombian, who won twice on the PGA Tour in 2008, credits a more relaxed approach to the game to his strong start to this season.
“I was getting a little too concerned with my world ranking position and money list, and this and that, and I just got a little tight on the golf course,” Villegas said. “So I needed to put all those things aside and remember that I’m playing golf for a living and there’s a million people out there that would love to be in my shoes, and have fun with it.”
Part of that is being able to shrug off a missed putt like the one that saw him fall to Paul Casey in the Match Play semi-finals.
“You know what? It’s OK,” he said. “I’ve got no problem with it. I wish I would have made it, yes, but you know what? It isn’t going to change me as a person.”
Villegas’ nine-under round equaled the first-round tournament record shared by Steve Jones (1997) and Harrison Frazier (2003).
Every, who earned his tour card by winning last year’s Nationwide Tour Championship, also had no bogeys.
Every started at the 10th tee and reeled off six straight birdies from the 17th, the longest streak of its kind so far in the season.
He is coming off a big disappointment at the Mayakoba Classic in Mexico, where he signed an incorrect scorecard and was disqualified after the third round.
To make matters worse, the card had been kept by his longtime golf hero Mark Calcavecchia. Every said he was so upset about his play that he signed the card without looking at it.
“It’s 100 percent my fault and he felt horrible, but it’s in no way his fault,” Every said.
Every played two seasons with Villegas in Florida.
“It’s pretty neat,” he said of the first round. “Obviously we played a lot of golf together. Not in the last few years, but he’s a really, really good player ... It’s good to see him playing well, especially after last week. I mean, he missed that little putt and he rebounded well, so that says a lot about his attitude.”
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