Camilo Villegas: Here comes the Spider-Man

"Grandpa" has a side that ranges from playful to mischievous. He tosses packets of Juan Valdez coffee to fans. When he and Manny were teammates at Florida, the pair got busted late one night while mining some 2,000 balls from a drained golf course lake, planning to sell them for a tidy profit. (Villegas was a business major, with a 3.78 GPA.) His college coach Buddy Alexander recalls the way his meal ticket liked to hop on his chopper and pop a wheelie, Evel Knievel-style, after practice. "I'd be wetting my pants watching my star player peel off on one wheel all the way down the street until he was out of sight," Alexander says. "He likes to show off."

Villegas had a chance to show off when he and Woods were paired together at the BMW Championship in September. Villegas shot 71 to Woods's 65, but the experience confirmed something that he'd always felt in his secret heart. He doesn't fear Tiger. Which means he doesn't fear anyone.

"Fear is not a word that describes what I feel when I step out on a tee with Tiger," Villegas says. "He's the best player in the world. But it's more of a challenge. That's the word. Challenge. I love that challenge. I love that stage. To play with Tiger, and to see the circus that surrounds you, it makes me focus on my game. It's intense. A different atmosphere. I learned from him. I saw the way he plays the course exactly as he planned, shot after shot. I hope to play more [with him] on weekends. That means I'm doing pretty good."

Then he's asked a question — Are you good enough to be No. 1? — which, full disclosure, was posed to elicit an answer that might make a juicy coverline. Something like: Camilo to Tiger: "Your ass is grass!" No dice.

"Am I good enough to be No. 1? Sure, but who's gonna break Tiger's legs? [Laughs] I want to be the best. Can I? Oh, believe me, I will be trying. Hard. You grow up in Colombia, and everything is limited. Then, I come here, and you have everything. A trainer, nutritionist, coach. I'm very lucky. Many doors open, and I have a path to take. I can take the good, positive path, or the lazy path. I try to take every challenge, in the gym, nutrition, practice, and then see what happens."

What happened in 2007 was a nice year that saw several fat paychecks but only one brush with victory — a four-man playoff at the Honda Classic, in March, won by Mark Wilson. Few question Villegas' talent. His simple, explosive swing sends balls soaring off his clubface like bottle rockets. But power doesn't help you on the greens, and in 2007 Villegas ranked 77th and 111th in putting average and putts-per-round, respectively. Besides, the Tour is littered with Next Big Things who wind up on milk cartons: Ricky Barnes, Hank Kuehne, Ty Tryon. "To win, I need to get better, to keep practicing, to maybe get a little lucky. I need more chances. I want that chance."

It's his apparent comfort in the spotlight that separates Villegas from other pros, says CBS commentator David Feherty, who's spent time with Villegas on the set of their Cobra commercials.