Golf | Camilo Villegas posts BMW victory

ST. LOUIS — Camilo Villegas of Colombia gave fans an excellent reason to pay attention to him — a trophy.

A marketing dream with his model looks and stylish attire, Villegas won for the first time on the PGA Tour — making three big putts on the back nine at Bellerive Country Club on Sunday for a victory in the BMW Championship.

Villegas closed with a 2-under-par 68 for a two-shot victory over Dudley Hart, who birdied the final two holes to earn a trip to the 2009 Masters with his highest finish in two years.

With one event remaining in the four-tournament PGA Tour Playoffs, the FedEx Cup essentially is over.

Vijay Singh, who won the first two events, tied for 44th by shooting a 69 and earned enough points so all he has to do is complete four rounds at The Tour Championship, which starts Sept. 25 in Atlanta, to collect the $10 million payoff.

But Singh didn't seem terribly grateful. The Fijian declined to speak to NBC Sports and walked briskly past a group of other media shortly after his round.

In a more talkative mood later, Singh said, "I was pretty focused this week and tried pretty hard and never gave up."

Villegas, a 26-year-old in his third year on Tour, finished at 15-under 265 and collected $1.26 million.

"It's awesome to be here," said Villegas, who wore a solid white outfit accented by a yellow belt and painter's cap.

"Hopefully, it's the first of many."

Villegas was near the lead going into the weekend at the British Open, rallied to finish fourth in the PGA Championship and started the final round last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship one shot behind until faltering.

Villegas had ample opportunity to let this one get away, too.

First came back-to-back bogeys on the front nine, losing the lead to American Jim Furyk. But the real test came on the back nine, when Villegas was clinging to a one-shot lead and could not reach the green on the par-4 12th after hitting into a bunker. His third shot was 12 feet short, but he sank the par putt to keep the lead.

One hole later, he seized control.

Furyk hit his tee shot into a bunker on the par-3 13th and made a bogey, while Villegas took yet another aggressive line and holed a 10-foot birdie putt to build a three-shot lead. Then came a 35-foot birdie putt on the 14th that sent him on his way to victory.

The top 30 players in FedEx Cup points advance to The Tour Championship. Hart moved up 53 spots to No. 14.

The final spot went to Chad Campbell, who got no points after withdrawing Saturday to fly home to Dallas after learning his wife went into labor. Dix Phillip Campbell was born later that evening.

Other tournaments

• Brendon Todd won the Utah Championship in Sandy for his first Nationwide Tour title, closing with a 4-under 67 for a six-stroke victory over six players — including Bellingham native Ryan Hietala (66). Todd had a 22-under 262 total and earned $99,000.

• France's Jean-Francois Lucquin won the European Masters, beating Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff in Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland. They were tied at 13-under 271 after 72 holes.

• Annika Sorenstam, a 37-year-old Hall of Famer from Sweden, ended the European segment of her pro career by finishing third in the Nykredit Masters in Helsingoer, Denmark.

Sorenstam closed with a 2-under 71, leaving her five shots behind winner Martina Eberl of Germany.

Eberl closed with a 66 for a 14-under 205 total. England's Melissa Reid (73) was second at 206.

• Richard Berkmeyer of St. Louis earned the top match-play spot in the U.S. Mid-Amateur, shooting a 1-over 71 at Milwaukee Country Club for a one-stroke victory over San Diego's Tim Mickelson — younger brother of PGA Tour superstar Phil Mickelson — in stroke-play qualifying.

Berkmeyer was at 2-under 138 for 36 holes. Derek Berg of Duvall tied for third at 140.

Dan Whitaker (76-72 — 148) of Cle Elum missed advancing to 64-man, match-play competition in the event open to amateurs 25 or older.

• Meanwhile, Wendi Patterson-Golden of Sarasota, Fla., shot a 2-under 70 to top the 64 match-play qualifiers in the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship in Ann Arbor, Mich. She had a 2-under 142 total for 36 holes in the event open to amateurs at least 25 years old.

Lisa Smego (76-74 — 150) of Olympia tied for ninth and Leslie Folsom (81-75 — 156) of Seattle also advanced.