Camilo Villegas was 254th in the world rankings when he entered the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C. on August 11th. He had dropped from 7th place in 2008 and hadn’t won a tournament in over 4 years. In 2012 he had to go through Q School to retain his tour card for 2013.
The 32-year-old Tour Pro from Columbia is known for his commitment to physical fitness and his personally devised putting routine. Crouching down parallel to the ground, extending his left leg back, and balancing on his right leg and putter, he positioned himself for getting a close up view of the slope of the green. For this posture he was nicknamed Spiderman.
Be patient. It’s only a game.
Villegas now has mostly given up his Spiderman stance for reading putts. “Only on putts that [look] really, really straight, when I’m not sure which way it goes,” he said. “The game is funny. I did it for a long time, trying to get a perfect read, and it seemed sometimes when you try to get too perfect it doesn’t go as good. Right now I’m trying to be a little more free, relaxed and little more reactive, more athletic and natural.”
On Sunday at the Wyndham, Villegas shot 63 to match his opening round 63. He carded his 4th Tour victory by one shot, rewarding his patience for the past four years. He described his game as, “Ups, downs, good years, average years, bad years. And if you ask any player in the field, everybody wants to play better. Do I want to play better? Yes. Do I feel like I have played to my potential the last two and a half years? No. But again, it’s not everything about golf. You’ve got to be little bit easy on yourself and just enjoy life.”
Villegas prepared by going home to Columbia to visit his family and friends the week before the tournament to recharge mentally and physically. He didn’t take his golf clubs and rode his bicycle more than 400 miles while there.
Patience with yourself is confidence and trust. If your game today isn’t what you want it to be, just give it another day.
Play “in the zone” with Joan
Entrain Your Heart & Mind for Peak Performances
To change your behavior so you have more patience, listen to the PMI self-hypnosis CD “Progressive Relaxation of the Mind & Body” available at www.pmi4.com/cart
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