On three occasions Miguel Ángel Jiménez has gone into the final day of a senior major with at least a share of the lead. In the 2016 Senior British Open he eventually shared third place and in the U.S. Senior Open that same year he was joint second.
The third opportunity came this past weekend, and he made no mistake. As the U.S. PGA Tour Champions headlined its report, "Red-hot Jiménez wins Regions Tradition… Fan favourite claims first senior major championship by holding off hard-charging Stricker."
It was also the first-ever senior major (the other two are the Senior PGA Championship and Senior Players Championship) by a Spaniard, and José María Olazábal (winner of two U.S. Masters but still seeking his first regular title as a senior) was on hand to share the celebrations with his compatriot, colleague and friend.
Jiménez won the Regions Tradition by three shots, having held or shared the lead after every round and taking a three-shot advantage into the final round at Greystone Golf & Country Club. He finished at 19-under 269 for his fifth Champions victory. "It's been a wonderful week," he said. "My game was amazing, really."
Steve Stricker, Joe Durant and Gene Sauers tied for second, while Bernhard Langer finished five strokes off the lead in his bid to become the first to win the Regions Tradition three straight years.
CHAMPIONS TOUR NOTEBOOK
• In his second appearance at the Regions Tradition, Jiménez finished with a 19-under-par 269, matching his career-low 72-hole score on the PGA Tour Champions (2015 British Senior Open Championship) to claim his first major victory on both the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions.
• This was Jiménez’s fifth victory in five seasons on PGA Tour Champions, claiming one each year since turning 50. He has 21 victories on the European Tour.
• In 70 major championship appearances during his PGA Tour career, his best finish came in the 2000 U.S Open Championship at Pebble Beach where he finished tied second with Ernie Els to Tiger Woods’ historic 15-stroke victory, the largest in championship history.
• He now has five top-10 finishes in nine events played in this year and moved from number 15 up to number four in the Charles Schwab Cup money list with $670,872.08 in earnings.
• The 54-year-old became the sixth international player to win the Regions Tradition in its 30-year history, joining Bernhard Langer (Germany), David Frost (South Africa), Mark McNulty (Zimbabwe), Eduardo Romero (Argentina) and Graham Marsh (Australia).
