Villegas faces biggest day of young PGA TOUR career

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ST. LOUIS -- One TV camera was already rolling, its harsh light illuminating Camilo Villegas' handsome face as he stood on the sidewalk beside the clubhouse in Saturday's rapidly gathering darkness.

"Let's do this all at once," Villegas said, motioning to the stragglers to hurry up. "I've got the Gator game to watch."

Once the rest of the reporters had assembled, the former UF All-American assessed his round -- at least those holes he'd actually been able to finish -- and beat a hasty retreat to watch the telecast of his alma mater's date with in-state rival Miami.

Whether or not he makes it through the entire football game, Villegas will have to return at 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning to finish his last five holes and start the final round of the BMW Championship. And it could turn out to be the biggest day of the 26-year-old Colombian's career -- when he left the course he owned a share of the lead with Jim Furyk at 12 under.

Furyk, though, will get to sleep in after a marathon, 36-hole Saturday necessitated by Thursday's torrential rains. A 90-minute fog delay further complicated the issue and left Villegas and 22 other players stranded and facing another early wake-up call.

"I'm playing good, and it is what it is," Villegas said. "We knew we weren't going to finish, and you just prepare yourself mentally for that and come back tomorrow in the morning and play good."

The incredibly-fit Villegas, who has been featured in Men's Fitness, shouldn't be tapped out by yet another long day. After all, this is a man with bulging biceps who reads putts balancing himself on five fingertips and tiptoes.

Not to mention, Villegas may be as confident as he's ever been. He tied for third last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship and has held the first and second round leads at Bellerive this week as he stalks what would be his first PGA TOUR victory.

"I'm feeling good," said Villegas, who overcome a four-putt double bogey and made a clutch par that probably felt like a birdie after he rinsed his tee shot at the 17th hole on Saturday afternoon. "I'm enjoying playing golf right now. I'm playing pretty good. I'm rolling in some great putts, and I'm excited about tomorrow."

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Jim Furyk is seeking his first win in 14 months.

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Furyk is, too. He's looking for his first 14th PGA TOUR victory and his first since he won in Canada 13 months ago. He saw first-hand how quickly fortunes could change on Saturday, too, as he shot an 8-under 62 in the morning that included five straight birdies in a red-hot 28 on his back nine.

"Obviously, he had an unbelievable day," Villegas said. "But that shows you that there's some birdies out there, and hopefully we can take some of them."

Suddenly the man who had started the round at even par was one stroke off what would become Villegas' 36-hole lead. Furyk kept the pedal down and followed with a 66 that left him as the soon-to-be well-rested leader in the clubhouse.

"I liked the idea of turning around and going right back out after it," Furyk said. "Basically all I did for that hour was a couple interviews and I watched college football. I hit balls for about ten minutes and went to the tee.

"The idea, though, is hey, you're playing well. ... You try to keep that momentum going. Also you can get impatient out there and try to force the ball, and I just wanted to go out there and play solid and try to keep up front and make the rest of the field chase me."

Villegas will have a similar mindset on Sunday as he returns to complete his third round. Plus, he'll see first-hand how Bellerive is playing while Furyk and the others are just waking up. The 23-year-old Anthony Kim, a two-time winner this year, will join him, 9 under and returning to play a single hole.

Brian Gay, who is two strokes off the lead with three holes remaining, will be another early riser. He admitted he was "worn out and ready to go home" after the draining afternoon but he still planned to curl up and watch his Gators Saturday night. On Sunday, he had other plans.

"Just coming out and ploaying some more good golf," said Gay, who added that his putting turned things around Saturday. "Just got to be patient out there. There's a lot of long par 4s."

If the tournament had ended Saturday, Gay, who picked up his first PGA TOUR victory earlier this year at the Makoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun, would have played his way into THE TOUR Championship for the first time in his career. He'd risen 35 spots in the projected FedExCup standings to 23rd so Sunday will be an important test.

D.J. Trahan leans toward Clemson -- not Florida -- orange, and he was wearing the shoes to prove it Saturday. Tied for fifth at 8 under with K.J. Choi, Aaron Baddeley and Tim Clark, Trahan had also made a move into the projected top 30 and needs to continue to play well to get to Atlanta for the first time as well.

His performance over the first three rounds was small consolation after Trahan had closed with an 80 at the Duetsche Bank Championship. He said it was his worst round as a professional and feels it cost him a spot on the Ryder Cup team.

"It was one of those things," said Trahan, who shot 63-68 on Saturday. "I don't know if there's a Twilight Zone but I felt like I was in it all day. What terrible timing for me. ...

"But right now, I've got to try to play my way into the final tournament -- a good solid round that will get me to Atlanta. Maybe I'll feel a little bit of redemption then after such a poor Monday last week."