Date: September 08, 2008
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Villegas wins, Badds 10th

Colombian Camilo Villegas displayed composure beyond his 26 years to win his first PGA Tour title at the BMW Championship, while Aaron Baddeley was the best placed Aussie in a tie for 10th place at nine-under par. Villegas, in his third season on the Tour, did not surrender his lead over the final nine holes as he carded a two-under-par 68 to register his first victory in the big league. He finished at 15-under at Bellerive, two strokes ahead of American Dudley Hart (65), with Anthony Kim (67) and Jim Furyk (70) another shot back in a tie for third. Geoff Ogilvy finished in a tie for 28th, while Matthew Goggin, Robert Allenby and Stuart Appleby all finished at one-under in a tie for 38th. Adam Scott and John Senden were a further two strokes behind in a tie for 50th. On a day when Vijay Singh clinched a $US10million (AU$12,076,000) bonus for winning the FedEx Cup play-off series, Villegas was too good for his rivals. Singh, who won the first two play-off events, cannot be overtaken in the standings as long as he completes 72 holes at the Tour Championship finale. And even if Singh is disqualified at the Tour Championship and receives no points, he can only be overtaken by Camilo Villegas, if he wins the tournament. Villegas started the final round with a one-stroke lead over Furyk but fell behind after six holes before hitting the front again at the par-four ninth, which Furyk bogeyed. If one hole was pivotal, it was the par-four 10th, where Furyk made another bogey. Villegas was also in danger of dropping a shot after hitting a weak first putt from the fringe but he drained a downhill seven-footer to save par and increase his lead to two. Further birdies at 13 and 14 gave Villegas a nice cushion over the fast-finishing Hart, who birdied the final two holes. Meanwhile, Sergio Garcia was equal 20th at six-under, while a tired Padraig Harrington tied for 55th at three-over. Earlier 23 players returned to complete the third round, including Villegas, who had five holes left. He picked up a birdie to take a one-stroke lead over Furyk into the final round. Furyk, who finished his third round Saturday, had the luxury of a lie-in but it did not do him much good as his experience proved no match for the youthful enthusiasm and talent of Villegas. Round Four of the BMW Championship, Bellerive Country Club, St. Louis -15: Camilo Villegas 65 66 66 68 -13: Dudley Hart 67 69 66 65 -12: Jim Furyk 70 62 66 70, Anthony Kim 68 67 66 67 -11: Stephen Ames 68 69 66 66, K.J. Choi 70 68 64 67, D.J. Trahan 71 63 68 67 -10: Tim Clark 67 68 66 69, Hunter Mahan 69 67 68 66 -9: Aaron Baddeley (Australia) 71 64 67 69, Fredrik Jacobsen 67 67 72 65, Steve Stricker 66 71 68 66 -7: Ben Curtis 70 70 68 65, Brian Gay 67 67 67 72, Lucas Glover 68 68 69 68, Trevor Immelman 69 67 70 67 -6: Ernie Els 68 72 66 68, Justin Leonard 69 67 68 70, Phil Mickelson 68 65 71 70 -5: Tommy Armour III 71 64 69 71, Sergio Garcia 68 68 69 70 Also: -3: Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) 69 71 67 70 -1: Robert Allenby (Australia) 71 68 68 72, Stuart Appleby (Australia) 66 73 70 70, Matthew Goggin (Australia) 70 71 67 71 +1: Adam Scott (Australia) 69 71 69 72, John Senden (Australia) 69 73 73 66