Villegas wins the battle as Singh wins war

CAMILO VILLEGAS won the US Tour Championship but it was Vijay Singh who claimed the FedExCup $10 million (€7 million) bonus for topping the standings.

Singh's place at the top was already assured ahead of the Tour Championship finale at East Lake Golf course but Villegas' second straight victory - be beat Sergio Garcia on the first play-off hole - guaranteed the Colombian an extra $1.5 million (€1 million) as he edged the Spaniard out of second place in the standings. It was a finish worth $3 million (€2.1 million), the financial reward for second place in the FedExCup.

Villegas, who overcame a five-shot deficit with six birdies on his final 11 holes of regulation, admitted: "Winning is awesome," an understandable reaction from the 26-year-old who had gone 85 starts on the US PGA tour without winning until his back-to-back victories.

Although he won in a play-off, the shot that proved the catalyst for victory came at the 17th, a seven iron from 184 yards to 12 feet from which he made birdie. The Colombian grinned: "(It was) probably the shot of the tournament. There's a great chance the ball is going to plug if it comes up short in that bunker, and a yard long and it's in the water. So it's just hit and beg. It happened to be just fine."

Villegas final round of 66 edged out Garcia - the Spaniard led by three shots going into the final round - and US Ryder Cup stars Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson, who each recorded 69s. It was the third time in succession Garcia had blown a 54-hole lead of at least three shots: he missed a 20-foot birdie putt to win in regulation.

He didn't give himself much of a chance in the play-off when his four-iron came up 30 yards short and to the right. His flop shot over a bunker stayed in the collar of the green, and a chip to extend the play-off came up well short. He admitted: "I doubted myself too much early on, and it cost me."

"I don't want to take anything away from Camilo," he said. "He played an awesome round but I still felt like I let it go a little bit. I just didn't commit to my shots the way I should have, and then I paid the price. I lacked a bit of commitment. The freedom that I've been having with every part of my game, it wasn't there early on.

"When I'm on, and I know what I'm doing and my head is in the right place, I can be quite good . . . but sometimes I have a hard time committing to some of the shots, and it shouldn't be that way. I lost three hard ones late in the year and it's a bit disappointing, but the only thing you can do is move on."

Singh effectively wrapped up the $10 million prize two weeks ago in St Louis, so all he had to do was finish 72 holes at East Lake and sign for the correct score to win the FedExCup. The Fijian smiled: "I made one birdie and one bogey. It was easy not to make a mistake." He closed with a 70 and tied for 22nd in the 30-man field, but none of that mattered.

Villegas missed the cut at the Barclays in the first round of the FedExCup play-offs, which ultimately was the difference. Singh and the Colombian both won two tournaments but the former was more consistent in 2008 starting with 2,350 more FedExCup points than Villegas when the points were reset.

Singh ended up winning by 551 points and pointed out: "If somebody goes out there and wins two or three events, it's all over - no matter how much you tweak it."

Villegas will instead reflect on his latest tournament victory in which he prevailed against some elite company. Mickelson, Garcia, Kim and the Colombian had at least a share of the lead on the back nine at East Lake on Sunday afternoon while in the final two groups on the course.

At least one player made birdie or bogey on every hole except the 18th, which yielded only one birdie in the final round. Villegas was the player no one expected to be there. He started the final round five shots out of the lead, and despite a pair of birdies, gave it all back and more with a tee shot into the water on the par three, sixth and a bogey on the next hole.

A pep talk from his caddie, Gary Matthews, had the desired effect. "My caddie looked at me straight in the eyes and he goes, 'You ain't going to give up on me. We can still do it.' He was probably the only one believing that at that point."

Garcia, also a play-off loser to Singh in the Barclays, didn't make his first birdie until the 12th hole but steadied himself and was ahead by one shot until Villegas stood over his approach from the first cut of rough on the 17th hole, where the plan all week was to aim for the middle of the green. His caddie told him to take his chances with a 30-foot putt.

"Sometimes, I'm a little stubborn," Villegas said. "I wasn't sure if it was going to jump a little bit or not, but when my caddie looked at me, he went, 'Trust it. It's not going to jump.' I changed my target, looked straight at the pin, and went at it."

Sound advice; handsomely rewarded.