Camillo Villegas leads PGA Tour event in Mexico as he chases first victory since 2014

Villegas, who last tasted victory on tour in 2014, started in brilliant fashion by nailing a 10-foot putt for eagle on the very first hole at Cardonal at Diamante, the Tiger Woods-designed course being used for this week's tournament in Los Cabos.

He would go on to add eight more birdies and two bogeys on the way to a 36-hole total of 16-under 128.

That left him two strokes clear of American Matt Kuchar, who made seven birdies in a bogey-free 65.

Germany's Stephan Jaeger and American Justin Suh also shot 65s to share third on 131.

Villegas was particularly pleased with his start and finish on Friday, with the eagle and two more early birdies setting the tone, before he bounced back from two bogeys with a trio of birdies to finish his day.

"Eighteen was a good one," he said. "To make a four on that one, it makes dinner taste a little better."

"Pace of play was really, really slow," he said. "Sometimes it was a little tricky to focus. I kept it pretty chill with my caddie and my playing group and just tried to keep the momentum going on a slow day."

Kuchar, meanwhile,  likes his chances this week..

"I've been feeling good for a while about the state of my game," said the veteran, himself winless since 2019.

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