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Villegas leads the way in Phoenix Open

Colombian Camilo Villegas continued his good form with an opening 62 in the Phoenix Open in Arizona.
Colombian Camilo Villegas continued his good form with an opening 62 in the Phoenix Open in Arizona.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Colombian Camilo Villegas holds a one-stroke lead in the Phoenix Open
  • Villegas carded a nine-under-par 62, his lowest-ever round on the PGA Tour
  • Matt Every leads the chasing pack after a 63, with a group of five players on 65
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(CNN) -- Colombian Camilo Villegas holds a one-stroke lead after Thursday's opening round of the Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The 28-year-old, who reached the semifinals of the WGC-Accenture Match Play last week before going out to Paul Casey, continued his superb run of form by carding a nine-under-par round of 62 -- his lowest-ever round on the PGA Tour.

Matt Every leads the chasing pack after a 63, while a group of five players; Justin Rose, Mark Wilson, Ryuji Imada, Rickie Fowler and Pat Perez are tied for third place three shots off the pace.

Speaking to the official PGA Tour Web site, Villegas said a more relaxed approach was the key to his success.

"I was getting a little too concerned with my world ranking position and money list and this and that," Villegas said.

"I just got a little tight on the golf course. So I needed to put all those things aside and remember that I'm playing golf for a living, and there's a million people out there that would love to be in my shoes, and have fun with it."

Defending Phoenix champion Kenny Perry is six strokes off the pace after a solid opening round 68, where he was joined by world number two Phil Mickelson.