Little did they know then they would be next to each other on Friday's leaderboard.

While Norman played quality golf for his second 70 in a row and a halfway score at even par, Villegas finished his round with five birdies for a 5-under 65 and easily the best round so far of the 137th Open, leaving him one behind the Shark.

"I obviously played unbelievable," said the 26-year-old Florida-based Colombian, who repeatedly described his round at Royal Birkdale as "funky."

"Got off to a bad start, bogeyed the first two holes, and I kept my composure after that. But somehow my caddie just told me to keep battling, keep grinding, and came back with two birdies on No. 4 and 5. The back nine was obviously very special finishing with five birdies in a row."

Villegas pitched out of a bunker to within three feet at the par-5 17th and his approach at the 18th hit the pin before he made a 25-foot putt.

He said they were the sort of the breaks the players need on the treacherous, wind-swept, rain-soaked course. But Villegas already got a big break before the tournament started when Kenny Perry dropped out and the Colombian got in as the first alternate.

Maybe practising alongside Norman on Tuesday was another piece of good fortune.

"Obviously No. 1 in the world for a while, a great player," he said of the Australian, whose last Open triumph was 15 years ago. "I had a chance to play a practice round with him on Tuesday. Great guy, a guy who has played many Opens, so very experienced individual and I'm glad he's playing good.

"We talked about many things, and obviously links golf and these type of golf courses. He had some good advice. And obviously when somebody like that tells you something, you'd better listen."

In his third year on the PGA Tour, Villegas said he enjoyed the different challenges of "funky" links golf where the wind plays tricks on the players.

"When I say funky, I obviously don't mean anything bad," he said. "I'm just saying it's so different than what we're used to. I mean, downwind you can hit a driver that goes 370 yards, and then you get into the wind and you're hitting a driver 230.

"I'll keep doing exactly what I'm doing, just have fun with it. Yes, it's my first Open. Yes, it's only my third year on tour, but I feel pretty good about myself. I feel pretty good about my game, and it's going to be a good challenge for me."

Although he missed the cut at the Masters, Villegas has played consistently all season on the PGA Tour with a tie for ninth at the U.S. Open. His best was a third-place finish at the AT&T Classic where he almost made a playoff.

With the rare sight of the Colombian flag flapping alongside the Royal Birkdale links, Villegas said he was proud to represent his country at golf's oldest major.

"I love my country. It's a great, great place and I really, really miss it. Just like every country it's got its problems, and we tend to have that reputation," he said in reference to Colombia's drug-related crime. "But I guarantee everyone in this room when you guys visit it's completely different than what the news says.

"A win would be huge. We're only halfway there. There's a lot of golf to be played. But the game of golf has been growing in a very significant and nice way in my country, and that's one of my goals, just to represent my country in the best way I can and to hopefully just take it while it's there."