He brings flavor, flair and bravado to the senior set.
You can also add an extreme zest for life to that list as well.
‘I give all my life to golf and golf gives me all my life,” Miguel Angel Jimenez once said and now he’s added to that life with a first-ever major championship.
Jimenez was locked in a duel with American star Steve Stricker Sunday at The Regions Tradition but down the stretch, it was the pony-tail wearing Spaniard who prevailed.
A 20-footer for birdie at the par four 16th got him to 18-under and it looked like he badly needed it as Stricker was staring down a birdie of his own from just 12 feet. Surprisingly, Stricker missed, giving Jimenez a one-shot lead. At the par three 17th, Stricker made an uncharacteristic error when his tee shot found a greenside bunker and he failed to get up-and-down for par.
With a two-shot lead going into the par five 18th, Jimenez played two great shots then two-putted for an easy closing birdie to reach 19-under, good for a three-shot victory.
He was greeted with a huge hug from Jose Maria Olazabal as he walked off the 18th. This was the first time a player from Spain won a senior major.
It was the fifth win on the Champions Tour for the man they call “The Mechanic.” A winner 21 times on the European Tour, he once worked for a short time in an auto repair shop in his younger days.
The 54-year-old was showered in champagne, something he didn’t mind at all. He loves good wine, Cuban cigars and Ferraris.
“It’s nice, it’s been a wonderful week,” Jimenez said after he dropped that last birdie for a closing round of 70.
Then, most likely anticipating a celebration later, he added just one more word:
“Cheers!”
