Fashionable Villegas brings glamour to Dubai World Championships

By V. Krishnaswamy, Dubai, Nov 19 : Camilo Villegas, golf's poster boy and a new member of the European Tour, gives the season-ending Dubai World Championships the glamour quotient that a tournament offering the world's biggest prize money in a single week needs.

After shooting a flawless 66 that kept him tied for second and just one shot behind Robert Allenby (65), Villegas categories everything about the tournament as 'big'.

Asked for his impressions on the course, Villegas replied, "It's big, I can tell you that. Bunkers are big, greens are big, slopes are big, and golf course is long." Yes, the purse is big, too.

And in the years to come, Villegas could indeed be very big in world golf.

Named as one of the "Hottest Bachelors" by People Magazine, another fashion magazine GQ in 2006 said of Villegas, "He's got a closet full of tight trousers, a set of boxer's biceps and more screaming female fans than Justin Timberlake."

On a golf course, he stands out with his fashionable clothing and low-to-the-ground crouching style to read the greens.

"I felt pretty comfortable out there.(I) hit the ball great. I avoided those cross bunkers, which are always trouble. They are so deep," he said.

Villegas is one of those player any Tour would love to have. At present, he is balancing between US and Europe. "It's (dividing time between Tours) been interesting. It's definitely harder than people think," he said.

"But I'm enjoying it. It's not like I've played too many events. I think maybe 13 all together. But if one looks, I have spent about one month, five nights on a plane recently."

--IANS