A lot of "experts" talk about Camilo Villegas like he is still one of the next big stars. The thing is, the extremely good looking, muscular, Colombian hero who probably lands more women than a Gynecology waiting room doesn't really ever win. Honestly, he's probably best known for the maneuver he's doing in the picture that is supposed to help him reads putts better (?).

On Tuesday, Villegas fans can take solace in his victory at a skins game event, where he took home the gold with a chip-off against Vijay Singh, Mike Weir, Stewart Cink and Notah Begay III.

The rising Colombian star won a chipoff Tuesday against Singh, Weir, Cink, and Begay III to walk away with top money at the inaugural Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge at Turning Stone Resort's Atunyote Golf Club.

Villegas' winning pitch on the extra hole of the skins game competition boosted his earnings for the day to $220,000. Singh won two holes to finish with $180,000, and Cink finished with one skin worth $100,000 from the total purse of $500,000.

Now I know what you're probably asking yourself, so let me answer all the fuzziness for you. Yes, a chip-off is the lamest thing possible to decide the victor. The only thing worse than that is tossing a tee in the air and seeing who it points to. Yes, like you I was about a month away from totally forgetting who Notah Begay was. Yes, there could be a more random five-some on the PGA Tour, but not by much (I'm picturing a little K.J. Choi, Ian Poulter and Fuzzy Zoeller).

I guess the budding star that is Villegas will have this to hang his hat on. Sure, he's been on tour for three seasons without a victory, but the next time he is in that situation, I'm sure this chip-off victory will be that experience he's needed to finally pull through.

A couple days after Tiger Woods faked his way around Torrey Pines for major victory No. 14, Retief Goosen joked that he thought Eldrick was playing up the bum knee: 'It just seemed when he (Woods) hit bad shots his knee was in pain and on his good shots he wasn't ... Nobody knows if he was just showing off or if he was injured and I believe if he was really injured he would not have played.'

Surprisingly, this went over about as well as a Fuzzy Zoeller menu suggestion during Masters week, which led to the inevitable backlash, and even more inevitable Goosen back peddle. And because saying "I was joking ... I never spoke to the guy" is obviously not reason enough to let the issue die, Goosen took the unprecedented step of offering a formal apology (it's even notarized!) on his website.

...Actually my comments after Tiger won the Open were intended to be tongue in cheek, and certainly not the way they appeared in print. But they did, and I wholeheartedly apologise for that and intend to contact Tiger to explain this to him.

Whatever your ideological leanings, and with the full understanding that politics, particularly in an election year, is about winning by any means necessary, this seems ... well, weird.

And while it's not blatantly racist, it certainly is uncomfortable to watch.



Um, huh? (You can watch David Bellavia's entire introduction after the jump.) What does Tiger Woods have to do with Senator Obama? You know, other than the fact that they're both part African-American. But maybe we're too quick to judge Bellavia; I mean, he could've said, "you can have your Pacman Jones and/or Chris Henry." At least he gave Democrats the upstanding young black man. So thanks for that. Jerk.

Whatever, the Golf Blog makes a good point:

[This is] just because Tiger's black, his name is thrown out there as associated with Barack Obama, all in a disparaging way ... Earl Woods, of course, was a Green Beret and Vietnam veteran, so to have his son's name invoked in an insulting fashion at a war rally apparently by another military man is appalling.

Yes, and John Kerry agrees with this message.

In related news, Fuzzy Zoeller will be introducing Senator McCain at a campaign stop at Rose Ridge Golf Course later this summer. Should be fun.

The Masters is all about tradition: the par 3 tournament, the ceremonial tee shot, the green jacket, calling everybody "patron," the Champions Dinner, and of course, institutionalized racism.*

As is custom, the defending champion gets to choose the menu for the Champions Dinner held during Masters week. This year, Zach Johnson was planning to have Ruth Chris Steakhouse serve up some Iowa beef, to honor his roots, and in a nod to his wife, Amelia Island shrimp. Augusta National offered a polite "hell no" on the idea and reminded Johnson that he'd have to use the chefs on staff.

So it was back to the drawing board, and the menu remains a work in progress with only a couple of weeks before his mid-March deadline. Surf and turf is about as concrete as it gets so far.

"We're trying to piece some things together and see how that works out," Johnson said... "I have a feeling it's going to be some Midwest food with some Florida flair."

Sounds good. Just stay away from the chicken and collard greens. It really bums out the segregationists who will be in attendance.

After the jump, 20 years worth of Champions Dinner menus.

* joke

This seems weirdly appropriate: somebody got the bright idea to track down Fuzzy Zoeller for his thoughts on the Tiger-Tilghman flap. Zoeller, despite winning the Masters tournament in his first appearance, and also notching a U.S. Open title, will forever be remembered as the guy who made some remarkably offensive comments about Tiger Woods after the 1997 tournament (and Woods' first major victory):

"That little boy is driving well and he's putting well. He's doing everything it takes to win. So, you know what you guys do when he gets in here? You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not to serve fried chicken next year. Got it."

Yep, still cringeworthy. Almost 11 years later, Kelly Tilghman, an analyst for The Golf Channel, is under fire for joking that Woods' opponents should "lynch him in a back alley." Hilarious, I know. Tilghman immediately apologized and Woods called the whole thing a non-issue. And now Zoeller's on record with his advice for the embattled Tilghman:

"Just keep smiling and kill people with kindness. And remember, the sun will come up tomorrow ... Time heals all wounds," Zoeller said Jan. 11 via cell phone from Naples, Fla. "I know she's in a tough spot."

Insightful, that. Never let it be said that Zoeller doesn't have a cliché for every occasion. With Zoeller now on record, I'm pretty sure we've heard from everybody on the subject.

Previously on FanHouse:
Video: Kelly Tilghman Says of Tiger Woods 'Lynch Him in a Back Alley'
Kelly Tilghman Suspended Two Weeks for 'Lynch Tiger Woods' Comment
Tiger and Tilghman: Context Is Important
Tiger on Tilghman: It's a Complete Non-Issue
Golf Channel Anchor Kelly Tilghman Says Young Golfers Should 'Lynch Tiger Woods'