As Erik van Rooyen and Camilo Villegas walked down the first fairway on a Sunday afternoon last week in Cabo San Lucas, van Rooyen told Villegas the story of his pain. He told him about the “JT” written on his golf balls — for Jon Trasamar, the college teammate with terminal cancer he had on his mind.
And Villegas understood. He lost his daughter, Mia, to brain cancer three years ago, only returning to golf at the urging of his wife. That weekend, Villegas was having one of his best tournaments since that loss, so it wasn’t in him to complain as van Rooyen shot a back-nine 28 to win the World Wide Technology Championship and break down in tears telling the world about Trasamar.
“It was just meant to be,” Villegas told reporters. “He said it, playing for a different reason other than just a trophy, and it was his time.”
And Sunday was Villegas’ time. He went to the Butterfield Bermuda Championship to escape nine years of declining golf and emotional pain to get back to the winner’s circle.
“And here I am,” he said. “I guess it was my week to be.”
“The day we lost her, she’s been inspiring us to give back.”
Mia’s Miracles is a foundation dedicated to helping children facing challenging circumstances.@CamiloVillegasR and his wife Maria reflect on…
