Miguel Ángel Jiménez has written a new golden page for Spanish golf and for his unblemished service record, now adorned with his victorious debut on the American Senior Tour, specifically with the victory in the Greater Gwinnett Championship held at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Georgia, where the golfer from Malaga has once again demonstrated his inexhaustible magic.
Incombustible and brilliant if ever there was one, fourth in the recent Augusta Masters, Miguel Ángel Jiménez has maintained his extra-sweet moment of play with a sensational performance from the first minute, imposing an unassailable dominance over all his rivals, many of them -like the German Bernhard Langer, second classified- living history of world golf, who suffered in their own flesh a spectacular last round, 5 under par that exhausts the list of adjectives.
Miguel Ángel Jiménez, excellent from start to finish, the only Spanish representative in the competition, finished the first day with an extraordinary score, 65 strokes that allowed him to beat the then second-placed Steve Pate and the illustrious Bernhard Langer by 3 strokes.
One round later, Miguel Angel Jimenez remained at the top of the leaderboard after “humanizing” his performance, 70 strokes in those second 18 holes that allowed Bernhard Langer to get closer to the Spaniard in the general classification, a single stroke difference that allowed predicting maximum emotions for the decisive round, with the American Fred Couples, two strokes behind the Spaniard, also on the lookout.
The last round, as expected, soon became a tachycardic mano a mano between the two players in which, timidly, the American Jay Haas intervened at some point, who nevertheless attended as a guest of stone to the high-flying duel established by Jimenez and Langer throughout the course.
A special mention for hole 8, a crucial point in the rounds of both players, where Miguel Ángel Jiménez managed to make a birdie where Bernhard Langer made a bogey, two strokes of difference that gave wings to the player from Malaga who, touched by the magic of his golf, offered a master course at the beginning of the second round, birdies on holes 10, 12 and 13 that, in practice, sentenced the outcome of the tournament.
Statements
“It has been to arrive and kiss the saint. I am happy, very happy and very satisfied, not only for having won this tournament but also for the way I have played these two weeks. I’m hitting the ball very well, I’m playing great.
“But, they didn’t make it easy for me, just look at the rankings: Bernardo (Bernhard Langer), Jay Haas, Fred Couples…, surrounded by green jackets and great champions.
“This victory means a lot and has helped me realize that I have a future on the Champions Tour, although… wait a few more years! The truth is that everyone has received me very well and welcomed me.
“We’ll see what the future holds. My intention, if I continue to feel competitive, which I hope I do, is to continue to fight in the European Tour where I have a goal for the coming months: to qualify in my own right and play the Ryder Cup. I would be very excited.
“Today I came out pretty calm and focused, I didn’t get nervous even when Bernardo (Bernhard Langer) tied me. The eighth was the key hole, I hit a great four iron and left it to the side. From then on, I knew I had to keep my concentration trying to make birdies and, most importantly, without making mistakes.
At the Open de España
Jiménez, one of the great icons of Spanish golf today, who will also be present at the Spanish Open to be held at the PGA Catalunya Resort in mid-May, is making his debut on the American Senior Tour, although he has accumulated 20 victories on the European Tour, apart from the Ryder Cups of 2004 and 2010, among other significant successes.
A year ago, the Malaga-born player, considered one of the most charismatic golfers on both sides of the pond – the American specialized press describes him as “the most interesting player” – joined the select group of players with more than 600 participations in tournaments on the European Tour, which also includes Sam Torrance, Barry Lane, Roger Chapman, Eamonn Darcy and Malcolm McKenzie.
Last December he added to his achievements by becoming the oldest player to win a European Tour tournament by winning the Hong Kong Open.
Miguel Angel Jimenez was born in Churriana (Malaga) on January 5, 1964 and turned professional in 1982. His first participation in the European Tour took place in the 1983 Spanish Open in Las Brisas (Marbella, Malaga), although he achieved his first victory in the European Tour in the Piaget Open in Belgium in 1992.
Curiously, he has won 14 of his 21 titles by the time he is 40, another occasion for the player of the cigars – the ones he hollows on the golf courses with his wonderful putt and the ones he smokes when he wins – to exhale smoke of satisfaction.
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