Colombia’s Camilo Villegas captured the title at the US$7 million BMW Championship on Sunday, going wire-to-wire for his maiden victory on the US PGA Tour.
Villegas needed just 25 putts for a final round 68 to hold off American Dudley Hart, who stormed to a five-under 65 and finished two strokes back.
Villegas’ win puts him in second place in the season-ending playoff points race behind Fiji’s Vijay Singh, who likely clinched the title.
The 26-year-old Colombian rolled in a three-foot putt on the final hole to seal the victory and finish with a 15-under 265 total.
He is the first player to win his first PGA title in wire-to-wire fashion since Tim Herron at the 1996 Honda Classic.
Meanwhile, Singh, who won the first two playoff events, cannot be overtaken in the playoff standings as long as he completes 72 holes at the Tour Championship.
And even if he somehow is disqualified and receives no points, he will take the title anyway unless Villegas wins the tournament.
Villegas started the final round with a one-stroke lead over Jim Furyk of the US, but fell behind after six holes, before hitting the front again at the par-four ninth, which Furyk bogeyed.
If one hole was pivotal, it was the par-four 10th, where Furyk made another bogey.
Villegas was also in danger of dropping a shot after hitting a weak first putt from the fringe, but he drained a downhill seven-footer to save par and increase his lead to two strokes.
More birdies at 13 and 14 gave Villegas a nice cushion over the fast-finishing Hart, who birdied the final two holes.
■EUROPEAN MASTERS
AFP, CRANS-SUR-SIERRE, SWITZERLAND
France’s Jean-Francois Lucquin won the European Masters on Sunday, beating longtime leader Rory McIlroy in a play-off.
The Frenchman shot a bogey free 67 to wipe out the 19-year-old Northern Irishman’s four-shot overnight lead and snatched the title with a birdie at the second play-off hole.
McIlroy, trying to become the third-youngest winner in European Tour history, missed a five foot putt for par at the 18th that would have given him the title.
But worse was to follow as he then missed again from only about 18 inches at the second play-off hole.
It left Lucquin with two putts to win from 12 feet, but he needed only one of them for victory.
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