ST. LOUIS (AP) -The final putt was the easiest one Camilo Villegas faced on the back nine of Bellerive, and when he rapped in the 2-foot par, he straightened his back, closed his eyes and tilted his head to the blue sky above.
His wire-to-wire victory in the BMW Championship seemed overdue, even though the 26-year-old Colombian is finishing up his third year on the PGA Tour.
Handed star treatment early because of his fashion model looks, chic clothing and "Spider-Man" style of reading putts on the green, he was growing impatient as other players in their 20s - Anthony Kim, J.B. Holmes, Sean O'Hair - piled up victories. Villegas believed winning was a process, and it finally arrived Sunday in St. Louis.
"It's awesome to be here, and I'm sure when I get a chance to spend a little time with myself, it's going to really sink in," Villegas said after closing with a 2-under 68 for a two-shot victory. "And there's going to be a lot of memories of this week and of the past and how hard I've worked and how hard I've battled."
He could have been talking about his journey from Colombia, earning a business degree at Florida while grappling to learn a new language, then becoming the first player from his country to win on the PGA Tour.
Or he could have been talking about Sunday.
Villegas finished at 15-under 265 for a two-shot victory over Dudley Hart. But it was hard work.
He returned at 7:30 a.m. to a light drizzle and had to play five holes to finish the third round, where a 12-foot par save and a birdie putt from the same length allowed him to complete a 66 and take a one-shot lead over Jim Furyk.
Then came the self-doubts, mostly from his putting.
Villegas gave up the lead when he missed three straight putts inside 8 feet, twice taking bogey, to fall behind. He regained the lead when Furyk dropped two shots around the turn.
But the defining moment came at No. 12.
Villegas, who had a one-shot lead, drove into a poor lie in a fairway bunker and had to play short of the green. He hit wedge to 12 feet below the hole, as Furyk had 15 feet for birdie.
Furyk narrowly missed, and Villegas poured in his par putt.
