It is clear that Miguel Angel Jimenez’s 48 years do not weigh him down, at least when he is in full swing. Not in vain, he has become the oldest player to win on the European Tour, a record held until then by Des Smyth, who won the Madeira Open in 2001 when he was six months younger than Jimenez. The Andalusian golfer’s last feat took place at the Hong Kong Open in November.
El Pisha or El Mecánico, two of his nicknames, wrote a page in the history of golf in the Far East, breaking three records: he became the oldest winner on the European Tour at the age of 48 years and 318 days (Churriana, Malaga, January 5, 1964); he won 12 titles at the age of 40; and he added his sixth victory in Asia. It was the third time that the player from Malaga, who has 22 victories to his name, won this tournament: 2005, 2008 and 2012.
Jiménez won in Hong Kong with 15 under par (65-67-68-65=265) and one stroke ahead of Fredrik Andersson Hed, winning the third Spanish title in 2012, after Rafa Cabrera-Bello (Omega Dubai Desert Classic) and Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño (Italian Open). The total of Spanish victories in the European Tour amounts to 166. In addition to climbing several places in the Race to Dubai -from 41st to 27th- and the World Ranking, this tournament opened the doors to the Volvo Golf Champions and the WGCHSBC Champions 2013, in which he has already secured his place.
OLIVE OIL AND RIOJA WINE: “It was about time to win again, it must be that olive oil and Rioja wine help me to stay on top of my game! “I had been playing well for some time, picking up fairways and greens although the results didn’t reflect it. I have been patient and I knew that sooner or later the victory had to come,” he added. “During these two years without winning (Omega European Masters September 2010) there have been highs and lows of motivation,” he added. “You see that time goes by,” he continued, “you get good places but the victory doesn’t come and you hear everything: many people ask you if you are going to play the Senior Tour and it seems that they already want to retire you. I always said: ‘time will tell’. This victory means a lot and is special; better late than never, and I believe that the end of my career has not yet come”.
The player from Malaga said that he loves the city of Hong Kong, the tournament and the course where it is played (Hong Kong Golf Club): “They have something that attracts me a lot and I have not missed since I came here for the first time in 2004. The course is not too long but it is demanding, and that suits me. Here it’s not a question of hitting it hard but of thinking about where you leave it”.
“Regarding his age, competition and his future in golf, he said: “I’m 48 years old and I’m already close to 49, next year (in 2013) I’ll be 25 years on Tour, what a barbarity! But I have the immense luck to continue enjoying golf, I like what I do and I feel happy, and that is the most important thing. Golf has given me everything and I give it whatever it needs: I work, I train and go to the gym, I try to keep fit because if not… the youngsters come and wet my ear. I know I’m hitting the ball well, I still control it and I feel competitive, the day I don’t feel it… that’s the day I’ll retire, but in the meantime, I hope to keep on fighting”.
SKI ACCIDENT. But not everything has been happy for Jiménez, since the Malaga native will be on sick leave for at least three months after suffering a broken tibia in his right leg while skiing in the Sierra Nevada ski resort over Christmas. The damaged area, the tibial plateau, right at the junction with the knee, is delicate, so as soon as the accident occurred, Jiménez was transferred to Malaga, where he underwent surgery at the Quirón clinic. The operation was successful after placing two pins in the tibia.
Leave a Reply