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THE PRESIDENTS CUP

October 6, 2009

Camilo Villegas

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

Q. What kind of an impact does an event like this have in South America and Colombia in terms of golf awareness?
CAMILO VILLEGAS: It's big. The golf keeps growing in my country, but not only in my country, in South America. People keep learning about the game, and you know, it's all about soccer.
Having a guy like Angel Cabrera, a two-time major winner; you know what, there's going to be a lot of people watching. There's going to be a lot of people rooting for us, and we will be giving our best to play as good as we can and have a good outcome, and again, keep growing the game of golf in South America, keep motivating those kids that are coming or getting into the game.

Q. When you go back home, how do you see that evidence itself that the game has grown? What tells you?
CAMILO VILLEGAS: Well, like I say, people keep learning and watching and more kids keep playing. You appreciate, when people respect what you do and when people respect your effort, people respect the fact that you're trying to represent your country as good as you can, and be a positive influence on people, that's all that matters.

Q. Do people ever ask you why you're playing golf and not soccer?
CAMILO VILLEGAS: Not really. Golf is a passion and it's what I'm good at --

Q. In America, a great athlete that plays soccer, they will say you're not playing American football or basketball.
CAMILO VILLEGAS: Well, the guy is probably 5-foot eight and probably can't play football.
I'm really excited to be back into a tournament and take it to a different level. Now I'm representing Colombia and the rest of the world and I'm excited to be part of this team and play.

Q. So the South America Championship, if you had a five-man team --
CAMILO VILLEGAS: Well, you have ten countries, nine actually, and there was one country, the country that finished last the previous years couldn't play the next year. So it would make it nine and you could play two matches at the same time.
So I would be playing Argentina and Brazil one day. It was my favorite event and I'm very excited to be back doing something similar.

Q. Was it hard to feel a part of the International Team until you made the International Team?
CAMILO VILLEGAS: Was it hard to feel?

Q. In terms of you watching on TV and watching guys that you play with on the U.S., competing against the U.S. as TOUR competitors, did it feel like you were part of the International Team until you actually made the team?
CAMILO VILLEGAS: Well, when it comes to the golf part, I'm an international player. Yes, I've been in the States for nine years already and I have a lot of respect for this country and I love this country and it's been great to me.
You know, when it comes to playing The Presidents Cup, I'm part of the International Team, and I've always felt that way, and always wanted to be part of this team. So obviously I have nothing against anybody on the other team. Like I said, I only have good things to say about the United States and the players from the United States.
But you know what, this week, I'm part of the International Team, and all I can do is just do my best when it counts.

Q. Do you have the flag on your bag?
CAMILO VILLEGAS: Everybody has their own flag on their bag.

Q. Did you play alternate-shot in the other team competition?
CAMILO VILLEGAS: Yeah, like I said, we played alternate-shot in the morning and best-ball in the afternoon. It was a 36-hole, four-day, 36-hole -- I love it, man. I love this format. Again, I can be redundant and keep saying the same thing. I'm just excited to be part of this team. I mean, I walk in my room Sunday night, I look at all of the uniforms, and all of a sudden it's memories of kind of college golf and the South American Championship, and trust me, I've got a lot of good memories. So I think it's time to step it up and add some more good memories about team golf and team competition.

Q. What do you think that you'll remember about Harding Park that will stand out in your mind?
CAMILO VILLEGAS: The golf course is in good shape and it's not crazy tough and the rough is not crazy high and the greens are not crazy fast or firm. So it's going to be a good opportunity to score and make birdies and score and have fun out there.
Again, at the end of the day, you just want to remember, this is a very special week and you can take that Cup home and that's why we are here.

Q. Over the course of a week event, the fact that your time is not your own, what are some examples that you're doing to make sure that the weekend you're going to be playing at your best?
CAMILO VILLEGAS: There's time for everything. Yes, you have commitments to the team, and yes, you have media commitments, but at the end of the day, you still have two, three hours of your time.
You know what, I'm one of those guys that I want to be in the gym, so it's just a matter of being organized. If you are organized, you have time for everything and prepare yourself for the best.

Q. Can adding some new blood on the team help the Internationals?
CAMILO VILLEGAS: It's a new year, it's a new tournament. Why are we going to keep thinking about the past? What happens before -- we can only control what we do this week and the way we are going to prepare.

Q. Last year's Ryder Cup Team, they were not worried about past results, that's why I asked, and maybe that can help you guys.
CAMILO VILLEGAS: No, I just don't really think that way. I just see each event as an individual thing. You win a golf tournament one year, you go and try to defend the next year. People make this big deal about, oh, you're defending champion, this and that. You know what, what does that matter? That was last year.
The golf course might be playing different. You're still playing against the best players in the world, and you've still got to take care of yourself and forget about the rest. So I don't think it's an important point.

Q. Do you think The Presidents Cup should be played on a golf course like this?
CAMILO VILLEGAS: I'm not saying one is better than the other. There are great public golf courses and there are great private golf courses. It's a matter of finding the right place that wants to have it that at the end of the day is the best for everything.

Q. Thoughts on your season?
CAMILO VILLEGAS: This year wasn't last year, but I'm not disappointed. I'm 20 in the world, I keep getting better and keep learning about myself, and learning about the lifestyle out here and getting more experience. So funny that people say, you know what, you've been disappointed; they make assumptions, oh, it's been a bad year, but those are opinions.
As long as I keep working hard and getting better, that's all I can ask.

Q. Did you reach most of your goals this year?
CAMILO VILLEGAS: There's one main goal and that's wake up every morning with a good attitude and give it my best. You know what, you can say, I want to win x, y, z. Why set a limit in that respect? There's only one thing I can control is my emotions. I can wake up and say, I want to give my best and try to get better, and if I can do that, at the same time accomplishing my biggest goal.
Did I do a good job about it this year? I would say I did -- I got a little tired toward the end, which might have deflected the excitement I had to go play golf. But I think a lot of the guys were tired toward the end of the year. That's why you look at your schedule and try to set it up the way it would be the best for you.

End of FastScripts

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