Two-time PGA TOUR champion Matt Every spends some time with fellow Gator Camilo Villegas to talk about their time together at the University of Florida, Villegas’ fitness routine and his charity Mia’s Miracles, named after Villegas’ late daughter.
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Being very fortunate to be out here for for this long. I’m getting I’m getting a little older. I’m 43. Yeah, you are. I’m one of the old guys out here. They they You’re a dinosaur for out here. Yeah. I was doing something last night and they said a seasoned veteran. I said, “No, you can call me old. That’s fine.” There’s nobody I’ve known longer on the PGA Tour than Camilo Vegas. Our time goes all the way back to the University of Florida. Fast forward 21 years and he’s got five PGA Tour wins under his belt. Today he stops by to give us a peek at family, his career, and his preparation every Tuesday. What’s up, brother? Kasa. Oh, good. How we doing? Good. Welcome to Every Tuesday. Here we go. Have a seat. Let’s do it. A lot of years with you. Oh my god. College teammates. What was the year? Uh 200 2002. My freshman year in Gainesville. That’s when we met. and you’ve been in my life for for quite some time, man. You’re a sneaky role model to me and I’m I’m pumped to have you on, dude. Yeah, thanks, man. Thanks for having me. Yeah, like you said, it’s been way back 2002 for me at Florida. Great years, man. Fun years. Well, let’s talk about it. The name of the show is Every Tuesday. I mean, you’ve been out here for 20 plus years, dude. Turned pro in 2004. Nobody crosses their tees and dots their eyes more that I know than you out here. And it started from a young age. Even in college, this guy’s yardage book was insane. Um, especially compared to like somebody like me. Just Yeah, you always copy mine. Okay, I did. But just the complete opposite end. How is your prep changed out here through through 20 years? I know life happens marriage, kids, uh, careers in different spots. Are you the same guy now prep-wise early in a tournament as you were maybe 25 years old? Yeah, believe it or not. I mean, this so competitive out here, you you got you got to stick with it. I mean, are there little things that you already know that you don’t have to be too focused on? Yes. But when it comes to just going out to the golf course on Tuesdays, for example, you just do the same thing. You double check your what your lines are. You bring your old yardage books, you have all the little notes. From a fitness point of view, it’s pretty much the same as it used to be. I try to conserve a little bit of energy. Like I said, I’m 43 years old now and I got to be a little cautious and listen to my body. I’ve been very fortunate to be healthy the last few years, which is nice. You have to stick to it. You got to listen to your body. You got to check the golf course. You got to work on your swing and you got to stay competitive out here. You are in the upper echelon out here for guys that take care of their body. And this started I mean, dude, it started I remember being blown away by you my freshman year at Florida. Some of the you were doing in the gym. I know Tiger introduced the fitness uh to the golf world, but you were also kind of one of the first guys to to lead that charge a little bit. I was very lucky to get to the University of Florida and see what was available for us in the athletic department. I got there at 138 lbs. One of the shortest hitters on the golf team. And I knew if I wanted to play pro golf, I needed to get stronger. I needed to get more fit and I needed to get more flexible. And I worked on all those areas using the facilities and the help that we receive at Florida. And I remember I started seeing quick results. And when you start seeing these results, you get motivated. It became a lifestyle more than I was doing it just for my golf. That’s one of the biggest gifts Florida gave me, which was like the fitness world. And I love it. The invention of Trackman came after you were out of school, right? And I know how your brain works. You’re you’re a guy you cannot you can’t turn away from information. Yeah. But you’re also an artist, so it’s it’s a it’s a it’s a bit of give and take there. Do you think if Trackman was never invented that you would be a better golfer now, uh 43 years old? That is an unbelievable question. I think Trackman has definitely helped me and heard me at times and it’s about using technology in a smart way. I’m going to tell you that Trackman really helped me get my fifth win in Bermuda. Yeah. started working with Jose Compra and we got pretty technical. He was showing me certain things that I really like and he changed some things that I needed to change in order to get better because I was pretty lost. I can tell you right now I’m going to go turn my Trackman later and it’s going to have three numbers and it’s going to have ball speed, okay, carry and spin rate. That’s it. And that’s it. So now I’m on a phase where I want to be more creative. I want to be more of a field player. I went back to Colombia for a few weeks. I called my old instructor, 84 years old. He pulls out his cell phone to film some swings and then he looks at me. He goes, “Remember when I used to bring the camera to film you? You would always tell me, “Put that thing away. Put that thing away. I’m a field player.” So, so we talk about Trackman and yes, it’s giving me information. It’s giving me knowledge. It’s helped me in certain situations, but it also has hurt me in others. I mean, I can remember certain shots you would hit. There’s a par three in Phoenix. The T- box isn’t there anymore. It’s number like the first part three in the back 13 or 12. Yeah. Okay. And there was a T- box that used to be up on the hill a little bit elevated to that green with the water on the right. It probably played like down 5 yards. You would hit it out of the screws with a five or a four iron and skip it off the T- box like a like it was a fighter jet taking taken off the ground. Like even Tiger Stingers obviously world class, but they weren’t the same. Yours were like riding the ground for a little bit and then coming up. I mean, I remember playing British Open and I had this Cobra two iron and I would I would I would early in the morning I would hit it off the TE’s and I I could see a little little line mark. Yeah. Yeah. Dark. And I think with with the way the golf ball has changed, that shot is not as as as efficient now. I mean, I don’t carry a two iron. Sure. Nobody does really. I don’t carry a three iron anymore. So, I got a hybrid and everything. So, that shot that actually skips off the of the of the ground is I I don’t I don’t play it, but but I do have the low one. I wish I could hit it higher, though. Let’s talk about Mia. Mia’s miracles. Where are we at with that right now? I know you guys have a ton of momentum. Uh the support has has been unbelievable. Mia would have been 7 years old. He brought us purpose in life, different energy. My wife and the whole Mia’s Miracles team has been doing an unbelievable job. We got different events. We have different programs. We’re in Colombia and we’re here in the United States. We’re working with a lot of different hospitals, just people that need it, man. And like we were in Colombia a few weeks back. We renovated the children’s oncology floor. Mhm. And I remember my wife grabbed the microphone and she said, “Everybody thinks everybody thinks these kids are getting the gift, but in reality, we’re receiving the gift.” Yeah. And it’s the gift that Mia left us, which is a new purpose in life, helping those kids. And the gift is ours to have the opportunity to give back. The energy you feel, the energy you receive to see these kids smiling during tough times. Trust me, we were in the hospital for 5 months at Nicholas Children’s where we had it all. We had the support and the time to be with Mia. That’s not necessarily the situation for all the families. And at the end of the day, it’s about our mission. Our mission is bringing smiles to those in need. So for the parents and the kids that are struggling and going through tough times, if we can bring a smile during a day for them, that’s our main purpose. And once again, I’m very grateful and yes, we miss Mia, but she left us a big gift and Mia’s miracles has wings, man. It’s going to the sky’s the limit. So to everybody that has supported us, we really appreciate that. Matteo crazy. Is he gonna gonna have a uh the sticks in his hand here pretty soon? He does, man. He’s improved. I’ve given him football, soccer, baseball, cycling, golf, anything that’s sport related, tennis, battle tennis. He goes to different classes and he’s full of energy. So, he needs to be doing something in order to go to bed before 8:30 p.m. So, that’s kind of our challenge. We got to wear him out. As the name says, Mateo means gift from God. And we’re happy to have him. And it’s it’s it’s it’s a joy to challenge ourselves to educate him and uh just be in this kind of world and lots of energy and lots of love. It’s fun. It is. It’s freaking fun. Dude, you’re the best. One of the purest hearts I know. Best dudes I know. Thanks for coming on. Thanks, M. Appreciate it, brother. All right, bud. Thanks guys.
1 Comment
Awesome conversation!