Colombia’s Camilo Villegas fired a flawless seven-under-par 63 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the USPGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship.
The final tournament of the US tour’s regular season sees players jockeying to make the FedEx Cup playoff tournaments, or just to keep their playing privileges for next season.
Villegas, 105th in the FedEx Cup playoff standings, could solidify his position among the top 125 who advance to the first playoff, the Barclays next week in New Jersey.
The Colombian, who won the last of his three US tour titles in 2010, overtook early pacesetters Webb Simpson and William McGirt, who shared second on 64.
It was a further stroke back to England’s Paul Casey, Scotland’s Martin Laird and the US’ Scott Langley, Heath Slocum and Andrew Loupe.
Villegas teed off on 10 and got things going quickly with a birdie at his opening hole at Sedgefield Country Club in North Carolina.
He birdied 13 after knocking his approach shot four feet from the hole and picked up another stroke at the par-five 15th.
At the fourth, he hit his approach from 149 yards out less than a foot from the cup for another birdie, then nearly holed out his second shot at the par-five fifth, sinking his three-foot eagle putt.
He picked up one more birdie at the seventh to seize the lead.
“It was nice to go without bogeys and I think it probably showed it was a consistent round,” Villegas said.
“Kept it in the fairway, kept it on the greens and just made the putts when I hit it close,” he said.
“Only missed one green, 11, got up and down, and other than that I think my birdie putts weren’t even that long,” Villegas added.
“I just hit the ball nicely today,” he said.
Simpson teed off at the first and opened with four straight birdies. He picked up another shot at the par-three seventh, and added two more birdies at 12 and 15 before his lone bogey of the day, at the 17th.
“I was hitting it good. This course, if you hit it in the fairways and you give yourself chances, you’re going to make some birdies, and that was kind of all I did today all day,” Simpson said.
“It’s still tough enough,” he added.
“There’s still challenges and there’s still spots you can’t miss your approaches in, but I started off great,” Simpson said.
McGirt started off slowly, with three birdies and two bogeys on the front nine.
However, he came alive with five birdies on the back nine.
“I never played that well here,” said McGirt, who like Simpson is from North Carolina.
“It’s nice to get off to a good start. It’s nice to have friends and family out for a week,” he added.
MADE IN DENMARK
AP, AALBORG, Denmark
Thomas Bjorn shot a five-under 66 for a three-way share of the lead after the first round of the Made in Denmark on Thursday, boosting his chances of securing a place in Europe’s Ryder Cup team.
Playing in his home tournament, Bjorn made five birdies and did not drop a shot in gusty conditions. He was tied for first with Felipe Aguilar of Chile and Bradley Dredge of Wales.
They led by three shots from Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark, who hit a bogey-free 69.
Nine players carded 70.
Bjorn has not played in the Ryder Cup since 2002, but a victory on the Himmerland Resort course will guarantee him a spot in the European team for the match against the US at Gleneagles next month.
Bjorn has occupied a position in the automatic qualifying places since December last year.
“I am happy with the day and happy with the start. It was pretty solid all way round,” said Bjorn, who earned his first professional victory at Himmerland in 1995.
Aguilar, a two-time European Tour winner, briefly led with a birdie on the par-four eighth hole, his 17th, but Bjorn, playing a hole behind, immediately responded in kind. They both parred the last. Dredge, who also has won two European Tour events, recovered from bogeying the second, his 11th hole, to birdie five of his last seven holes.
Paul Lawrie of Scotland and Soren Larsen of Denmark pulled out of the tournament because of injuries.
This is the inaugural tournament, and the first time since 2003, that a European Tour event is held in Denmark.
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