Miguel Ángel Jiménez goes on and on in the Champions Tour. He made his debut on the circuit back in 2014 and since then he has already accumulated ten titles, the last one obtained this Sunday at the Sanford International. Neither Steve Stricker nor Bernhard Langer have been able to defeat the Spaniard, who has emerged on his own merits as one of the great figures of the circuit.
Just a few weeks after giving himself an emotional bath of praise on the occasion of his 707th appearance on the European Tour, the Malaga-born player has once again made his mark on what is now his usual circuit. In South Dakota -and with an audience on the course, a novelty in these times- he has done what he does best, squeezing his virtues to be as competitive as possible.
In this Sanford International it has been from start to finish. His first two rounds of 65 and 66 strokes left him in a clear position to try the assault on a new title, and it is well known that when Miguel Angel Jimenez smells blood on a Sunday he is a fearsome opponent, regardless of the prestige of the opponent in question.
This time he had to overcome Steve Stricker, with whom he shared co-leadership on the 1st tee, and keep an eye on Langer and company. To do this, nothing better than to make any trace of bogey disappear from the card -none today and, mind you, only five in the whole tournament- and take advantage of any loophole to subtract strokes. He did so with three birdies and an eagle at the 12th.
A bogey by Steve Stricker at the 17th practically left the title on a plate. Not even the 63 strokes of Steve Flesch and the 65 of Bernhard Langer could prevent Miguel Ángel Jiménez from adding another success against the best seniors in the world. On the 18th hole, with his usual calmness, he shot an almost perfect putt of about eight meters and left the ball hanging to certify the winning par.
Second victory of 2020
In a season as limited and strange as this one in 2020, the Andalusian player already has two victories in the Champions Tour. The first was on January 19 at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, where he beat Ernie Els and Fred Couples, two truly legendary players, in an electrifying playoff. With that triumph he made his debut in the Spanish professional list of the year.
In total, Miguel Ángel Jiménez already has ten victories in the Champions Tour. He won in his first appearance -it was in the Greater Gwinnett Championship, played in April 2014-, was eighth in the second and in January 2015 he won the Mitsubishi Electric Championship.
Already in 2016 he won at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic, a success repeated in 2017, when he beat American Gene Sauers in a thrilling play-off playoff.
Subsequently, in May 2018 he won in the Regions Tradition, the first major achieved by a Spaniard in the senior professional field. In early July he came within a whisker of also winning the US Senior Open Championship, a success only prevented by the success of the American David Toms.
A few days later, at the end of July, Miguel Ángel Jiménez consolidated his trajectory with a resounding victory in The Senior Open, another of the integrated Majors in both the European Senior Tour and the Champions Tour. It is a curious circumstance that Miguel Ángel Jiménez also opened the Spanish victory record in 2019 by winning the Chubb Classic with great brilliance, before winning, also in 2019, the Dominion Energy Charity Classic.
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