GOLF - Villegas out to put his homeland on map too

It may be Camilo Villegas' first trip to Hawke's Bay but New Zealand isn't totally uncharted waters for the professional.
The name of the golf course escapes the Florida resident but he knows it is a Nationwide event in "New Zealands".
Then it comes to him in a rush, like a golfer digging himself out of a bunker and landing within the "gimme" vicinity of a manicured green punctuated by a fluttering flag.
Villegas fishes: "Clearwater, is that right?"
The 27-year-old Colombian-born player is clueless about what Cape Kidnappers will offer but reveals he's "only heard great things about the resort".
He reveals he'll be going to Spain for a matchplay tourney and then to China for the HSBC event before heading to the Bay.
"So hopefully by the time I'm there, my game is sharp and we can put on a good show."
Having heard excellent feedback from the four players in last year's Kiwi Challenge, coming to this part of the world was a no-brainer for Villegas.
"I've had a chance to go to Australia several times, to New Zealand one time, and that area of the world is one of my favourite ones.
"Good golf courses, great people and so I'm excited.
"We have got four great players to try and put on a good show, and yes, there's a lot of money involved which makes it nice."
He acknowledges he has played against Hunter Mahan, Anthony Kim and Sean O'Hair on the PGA Tour with mixed success and his world ranking as the second best among the four means little.
A single man, Villegas has been labelled "one of the sexiest golfers" on the PGA Tour circuit but he sidesteps any references to being a chick magnet and focuses instead on his fitness regime and giving something back to the South American community as their ambassador - he was in Colombia yesterday.
Reflecting on his pathway to a healthy lifestyle, he reveals: "You know, I love it. More than how important it is for my career and my game, I just enjoy it. When I got to the University of Florida, I weighed about 135lbs (61kg). I was one of the shortest guys on the golf team.
"I started working out and started just paying a little more attention to my new nutrition and fitness and by the end of the fourth year when I graduated and decided to turn pro, I was one of the longest guys on the team.
"So does it help? Yes, it definitely helps. But I just enjoy doing it and now I'm pretty consistent with cycling and I can be on the bike three, four, five hours and then go hit some balls and then go stretch. So it's just become part of my life."
A motorcyclist, the golfer has switched to cycling as of late.
"Motorbikes is too easy, man. You just push the throttle. Cycling, you've got the engine inside you, so a little more challenging."
He's mindful of his impact on his people and a continent, bar Argentina, that is devoid of golf tradition.
"You know, it's been a lot of new things for me in a very short time to all of a sudden become ambassador of my country and just have to represent my country everywhere I go.
"All of a sudden you're with the president and the vice-president and the board of tourism and you're trying to see how we can make this place a better place, how we can grow the game, how we can just project or expand or show the great things about this country," he explains, stressing the role of luring investors too.
For someone who picked up the game with his parents as a child, Villegas is thrilled to reciprocate in inspiring children.
But he emphasises professionals are not tourists but simply dedicated workers alternating between gyms and the fairways to eke out a living.