Notebook: Round 4, The Honda Classic

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Mar. 7, 2010
By John Bush, PGA TOUR Staff

Camilo Villegas posted a 2-under 68 on Sunday to finish 13-under 267, capturing the 2010 Honda Classic by five strokes over Anthony Kim (67). The five-stroke winning margin equals the largest at The Honda Classic. Jack Nicklaus won by the same margin over Gary Player in 1977.

• The win is worth 500 FedExCup points and moves Camilo Villegas to No. 3 in the 2010 standings, 20 behind leader Dustin Johnson.

• Villegas, a 28-year-old native of Medellin, Colombia, becomes just the fourth player under the age of 30 with at least three career wins (2008 BMW Championship, 2008 THE TOUR Championship, 2010 Honda Classic) on the PGA TOUR, joining six-time winner Adam Scott and three-time winners Dustin Johnson and Sean O'Hair.

• It has been a whirlwind week for Villegas, who followed up a T8 finish at last week's Waste Management Phoenix Open -- one of three top-10 finishes in as many starts in 2010 (3rd at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship) -- with a quick trip to his home country to help kick off this week's Pacific Rubiales Bogota Open on the Nationwide Tour. In Colombia, Villegas' brother, Manny, shot a 67 on Sunday to finish T15.

• Villegas' win by the numbers: The win is the fifth by an international-born player in the last six years at the Honda Classic...The win comes in his fifth-career start (four made cuts) at the Honda Classic, with his previous best finish a runner-up showing in 2007...Win is the 266th on TOUR by a former Nationwide Tour member.

• Villegas, at 13-under 267, notched the first double-digit winning score since the Honda Classic moved to PGA National in 2007. Mark Wilson won with a 5-under tally in 2007, followed by Ernie Els' 6-under total in 2008 and Y.E. Yang's 9-under score in 2009.

• J.B. Holmes (73/T12) played the final three holes in 4-over par but still managed to move into the top 10 on the FedExCup points list (from No. 11 to No. 9) by a mere three points to secure a spot in next week's World Golf Championships-CA Championship.

• Only three players entered the week inside the top 10 on the FedExCup points list who were not already eligible for the WGC-CA Championship. All three were successful in retaining their status this week, including Ben Crane (fell from No. 3 to 4), Ryan Palmer (fell from No. 5 to No. 6) and Bill Haas (fell from No. 8 to No. 10).

• The runner-up finish is the fourth of Anthony Kim's career on the PGA TOUR. It is his best showing on TOUR since finishing second at the 2009 SBS Championship.

• Top-3 finishes on the PGA TOUR:
Camilo Villegas (3 wins, 3 runner-up finishes, 6 third-place finishes)
Anthony Kim (2 wins, 4 runner-up finishes, 6 third-place finishes)

• Villegas and Fredrik Jacobson were the only players with all four rounds in the 60s this week, with Jacobson doing so in unconventional fashion with four consecutive 69s. They join John Rollins (2009) as the only players to perform the feat at the Honda Classic since the 2003 season. Villegas is the first Honda Classic champion with four rounds in the 60s since Matt Kuchar in 2002.

• The 1999 Honda Classic champion Vijay Singh finished T4 for his 169th top-10 finish in 430 career starts on the PGA TOUR. Singh's career includes 34 TOUR wins, 25 runner-up finishes (including the 1998 and 2005 Honda Classic) and 15 third-place finishes. He has nine starts at The Honda Classic, but this was his first contested at PGA National.

Justin Rose (3rd) posted a 6-under 64 on Sunday to add his name to the long list of players who equaled the course record at PGA National this week (Rose, Mike Weir, Paul Casey, Stephen Ames, Anthony Kim). The record was first set by Luke Donald (R1/2008) and Greg Chalmers (R2/2009).

Sam Saunders, grandson of Arnold Palmer, followed up three consecutive 1-under 69s with a 3-over 73 on Sunday to finish a career-best T17. For his efforts, he collected $68,444. By comparison, Palmer's largest career paycheck on the PGA TOUR was $50,000 for winning the 1971 Westchester Classic.

Michael Connell, making his 29th career start on the PGA TOUR, posted his first-ever top-10 finish with a T6 effort this week at the Honda Classic. Connell, who earned status on TOUR based on a T19 finish at the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament in 2009, finished No. 219 on the money list during his rookie season in 2006.

Chris Tidland, a 37-year-old resident of Stillwater, Okla., rallied from an opening-round 73 to finish T9 this week for just his second top-10 finish (T6 at the 2007 AT&T Classic) in 66 starts on the PGA TOUR.

• Odds and ends this week: Davis Love III missed his first cut this week in 16 career starts at the Honda Classic...Defending champion Y.E. Yang missed the cut, meaning Jack Nicklaus (1977-78) is the only player to repeat as champion at the Honda Classic...Local resident Robert Allenby missed the cut this week in his attempt to post four consecutive top-5 finishes at the Honda Classic.

Mark Calcavecchia made his 25th start at The Honda Classic this week, finishing T59. A two-time winner of the event (1987, 1998), Calcavecchia has six top-10 finishes here, including a T4 finish in 2008. This week represented the 514th made cut of his career (729 starts).

• Past champions of The Honda Classic who teed it up this week: Vijay Singh (T4), Justin Leonard (T17), Padraig Harrington (T40), Mark Calcavecchia (T59), Ernie Els (T67), Stuart Appleby (T67), Mark Wilson (72), Y.E. Yang (MC), Todd Hamilton (MC) and Tim Herron (MC).

• Villegas led the field this week with 22 birdies, one more than Anthony Kim. J.B. Holmes was the only player in the field this week with two eagles.

• Bogey-free rounds: R1 -- Nathan Green (65), Michael Connell (65), Oliver Wilson (66); R2 -- Mike Weir (64), Stephen Ames (64), Rocco Mediate (65), Steve Flesch (66), Jason Bohn (67), Alex Cejka (68); R3 -- Charlie Wi (68); R4 -- none.

Scoring Averages:
Round Front 9 Back 9 Total Cumulative
Thursday 35.448 36.958 72.406 ---
Friday 35.057 35.986 71.043 71.731
Saturday 34.878 35.986 70.865 71.552
Sunday 35.189 36.878 72.068 71.640 (compared to 71.389 last year)

• The season-long $1 million Kodak Challenge featured the 434-yard, par-4 16th hole this week at PGA National. Through The Honda Classic, 12 players share the lead at 4-under, including 2009 champion Kevin Streelman.

• Stat leaders for the week:

Driving Distance Angel Cabrera 304.6 yards
Driving Accuracy Four Players 42 of 56 (75 %)
Greens in Regulation D.J. Trahan 54 of 72 (75 %)
Putts per Round Michael Connell 26.50 per round

• The par-5 third hole played the easiest this week with a 4.485 average, while the par-4 sixth hole was the hardest at 4.387. Villegas played No. 6 in 2-under for the week, while runner-up Anthony Kim was 3-over on the hole.

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