Camilo Villegas was an inspired choice to be the chairman of the PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Council this year and to be the man who will join the Tour’s board at a critical time in January, replacing Jordan Spieth (who completed the term of Rory McIlroy after he stepped down a year ago).
Villegas, 42, is a rare creature (Spiderman) among players, a five-time Tour winner who reached as high as seventh in the world, someone who can truly say they understand what it is like to be a superstar, a top 50 player, a past champion, a journeyman, a 125 bubble player as well as a guy who bounced between the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour with conditional status. He has lived at least two years at each of those tiers and as his two-year term as board member is set to get under way, he has to make decisions that are best for the Tour at the expense of certain tiers with each decision.
Ahead of his title defense this week at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, Villegas sat down on a comfortable white sofa inside the media center at the World Wide Technology Championship last week in Los Cabos, Mexico, where he missed the cut to continue a disappointing season, and discussed why he wanted to be involved in Tour politics, which tier of player he most relates to and what he hopes for the future of golf.
