Miguel Ángel Jiménez

Miguel Ángel Jiménez Rodríguez (born 5 January 1964) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has won 21 times on the European Tour and has been a member of several victorious Ryder Cup teams.

Contents 1 Early years 2 Career since 2000 3 Personal 4 Professional wins (27) 4.1 European Tour wins (21) 4.2 Asian Tour wins (7) 4.3 Champions Tour wins (3) 4.4 Other wins (3) 5 Results in major championships 5.1 Summary 6 Results in World Golf Championship events 7 Senior major championships 8 Team appearances 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

Early years
Born in Málaga in southern Spain, Jiménez first played on the European Tour in 1988 and improved steadily over the next few seasons. His first win on the tour came at the Piaget Belgian Open in 1992. During a fairly up and down career, he has so far had four main periods of success. He has finished inside the top 100 on the European Tour Order of Merit every season since 1989. In 1994 he finished fifth on the European Tour Order of Merit. One highlight was scoring an exceptionally rare albatross (double eagle) on the 17th hole at Valderrama, during the 1994 Volvo Masters, sinking his second shot on the par-5 hole with a 3-iron.[1]

After some weaker seasons he bounced back in 1998 and 1999, finishing fourth on the Order of Merit in consecutive years and winning four tournaments including the prestigious Volvo Masters. In 1999 he also came second in the WGC-American Express Championship, which is one of the elite World Golf Championships events, and made his Ryder Cup debut.

Career since 2000
In 2004 he once again bounced back from some modest seasons, notching up another fourth place finish on the Order of Merit, and winning four European Tour events, which was more than any other player. He maintained his form into 2005, winning the Omega Hong Kong Open, which is a European Tour event, and the Celtic Manor Wales Open. He has featured in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings. Jiménez has had great success in team events representing Europe and Spain, winning the Alfred Dunhill Cup in 1999 and 2000, the Seve Trophy in 2000 and the Ryder Cup in 2004 and 2010.

In 2005 he won the Spanish Pairs final, with Andrés Jiménez at La Cala Resort in Andalucia, Spain.

2008 proved to be another good season with two wins, including the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, in which he beat Oliver Wilson in a play-off. His form earned Jiménez a spot on the 2008 Ryder Cup team. He finished the season ranked fourth on the Order of Merit once more.

While defending his BMW PGA Championship title in 2009, Jiménez scored a rare albatross (double eagle) by holing a 206-yard (188 m) six-iron on his second shot on the par-five fourth. It was the second such feat of his competitive career.[2]

In February 2010, Jiménez won the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, beating Lee Westwood in a playoff[3] and in July added the Alstom Open de France, beating Alejandro Cañizares and Francesco Molinari on the first hole of a playoff. He won his third event of the year at the Omega European Masters, finishing three strokes ahead of Edoardo Molinari

Jiménez was named as Europe's fourth assistant captain for the Ryder Cup in 2012.[4] Later in 2012 he won his 19th European Tour event at the UBS Hong Kong Open, and in doing so became the oldest ever winner on the European Tour.

While skiing in southern Spain on 29 December 2012, Jiménez fell and suffered a right tibial plateau fracture, which required surgery and kept him out of competition for several months.[5] He played in the Open de España in April 2013 but missed the cut and returned to the European Tour in late May.[6] In July, Jiménez was the 36-hole leader at The Open Championship. Later that summer, he lost a playoff to Joost Luiten at the KLM Open. In December 2013 Jiménez retained his Hong Kong Open title and broke his own record as the European Tour's oldest winner.[7]

On 18 April 2014, Jiménez made his Champions Tour debut by shooting a course record 65 at the Greater Gwinnett Championship.[8] Jiménez went on to win the tournament by two shots over Bernhard Langer.

Exactly one month later, Jiménez again extended his record as the oldest champion on the European Tour, securing his first triumph in the Open de España in his 27th time playing the event. Jiménez's up-and-down par on the first playoff hole defeated Richard Green and Thomas Pieters.[9] The win was Jiménez's 14th since turning 40 and tied him for 10th all-time among golfers with the most European Tour victories.

In January 2015, Jiménez won his second Champions Tour event at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.

On 23 May 2015, Jiménez aced the par-3 second hole during the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club, his tenth hole-in-one on the European Tour, which broke the record he jointly held with Colin Montgomerie. The ace was Jiménez's third of the season. He went on to finish joint second in the tournament.[10]

In April 2016, Jiménez won for the third time on the Champions Tour, with a two-stroke victory at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic over Scott Dunlap.

Personal
Jiménez is known as "The Mechanic" for his preference for driving, rather than repairing, high-performance vehicles, especially his red Ferrari.[11]

After the winner's press conference following the 2014 Open de España, Jiménez was asked the secret of his longevity. He stated, "There is no secret. Good food, good wine, good cigars and some exercise!"[12]

Professional wins (27)
European Tour wins (21)

No.

Date

Tournament

Winning score

To par

Margin of victory

Runner(s)-up

1 27 Sep 1992 Piaget Belgian Open 71-70-64-69=274 −10 3 strokes England Barry Lane 2 24 Jul 1994 Heineken Dutch Open 65-68-67-70=270 −18 2 strokes England Howard Clark 3 10 May 1998 Turespana Masters Open Baleares 69-68-70-72=279 −9 2 strokes Spain Miguel Ángel Martín 4 20 Sep 1998 Trophée Lancôme 67-70-67-69=273 −11 2 strokes United States David Duval, United States Mark O'Meara, Sweden Jarmo Sandelin, New Zealand Greg Turner 5 14 Mar 1999 Turespana Masters - Open Andalucia 69-66-62-67=264 −24 4 strokes England Steve Webster 6 31 Oct 1999 Volvo Masters 68-67-69-65=269 −19 2 strokes South Africa Retief Goosen, Republic of Ireland Pádraig Harrington, Germany Bernhard Langer 7 19 Oct 2003 Turespana Mallorca Classic 72-67-65=204 −9 1 stroke Spain José María Olazábal 8 1 Feb 2004 Johnnie Walker Classic1 70-66-67-68=271 −17 2 strokes Denmark Thomas Bjørn, India Jyoti Randhawa 9 4 Apr 2004 Algarve Open de Portugal 69-66-70-67=272 −16 2 strokes Australia Terry Price 10 16 May 2004 BMW Asian Open1 71-66-70-67=274 −14 3 strokes England Simon Dyson 11 29 Aug 2004 BMW International Open 68-66-67-66=267 −21 2 strokes France Thomas Levet 12 5 Dec 2004 Omega Hong Kong Open1 65-64-71-66=266 −14 1 stroke Republic of Ireland Pádraig Harrington, South Africa James Kingston 13 5 Jun 2005 Celtic Manor Wales Open 63-67-70-62=262 −14 4 strokes Sweden Martin Erlandsson, Spain José Manuel Lara 14 18 Nov 2007 UBS Hong Kong Open1(2) 65-67-66-67=265 −15 1 stroke South Korea K.J. Choi, Sweden Robert Karlsson, Thailand Thongchai Jaidee 15 25 May 2008 BMW PGA Championship 70-67-72-68=277 −11 Playoff England Oliver Wilson 16 7 Feb 2010 Omega Dubai Desert Classic 70-67-68-72=277 −11 Playoff England Lee Westwood 17 4 July 2010 Alstom Open de France 71-69-66-67=273 −11 Playoff Spain Alejandro Cañizares, Italy Francesco Molinari 18 5 Sep 2010 Omega European Masters1 67-61-68-67=263 −21 3 strokes Italy Edoardo Molinari 19 18 Nov 2012 UBS Hong Kong Open1(3) 65-67-68-65=265 −15 1 stroke Sweden Fredrik Andersson Hed 20 8 Dec 2013 Hong Kong Open1(4) 70-67-65-66=268 −12 Playoff Wales Stuart Manley, Thailand Prom Meesawat 21 18 May 2014 Open de España 69-73-69-73=284 −4 Playoff Australia Richard Green, Belgium Thomas Pieters

1 Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour

European Tour playoff record (5–3)

No.

Season

Tournament

Opponent(s)

Result

1 1994 Honda Open Australia Robert Allenby Lost to par on third extra hole 2 1999 WGC-American Express Championship United States Tiger Woods Lost to birdie on first extra hole 3 2008 BMW PGA Championship England Oliver Wilson Won with birdie on second extra hole 4 2010 Omega Dubai Desert Classic England Lee Westwood Won with par on third extra hole 5 2010 Alstom Open de France Spain Alejandro Cañizares, Italy Francesco Molinari Won with par on first extra hole 6 2013 KLM Open Netherlands Joost Luiten Lost to par on first extra hole 7 2014 Hong Kong Open Wales Stuart Manley, Thailand Prom Meesawat Won with birdie on first extra hole 8 2014 Open de España Australia Richard Green, Belgium Thomas Pieters Won with par on first extra hole

Asian Tour wins (7)

No.

Date

Tournament

Winning score

To par

Margin of victory

Runner(s)-up

1 1 Feb 2004 Johnnie Walker Classic1 70-66-67-68=271 −17 2 strokes Denmark Thomas Bjørn, India Jyoti Randhawa 2 16 May 2004 BMW Asian Open1 71-66-70-67=274 −14 3 strokes England Simon Dyson 3 5 Dec 2004 Omega Hong Kong Open1 65-64-71-66=266 −14 1 stroke Republic of Ireland Pádraig Harrington, South Africa James Kingston 4 18 Nov 2007 UBS Hong Kong Open1(2) 65-67-66-67=265 −15 1 stroke South Korea K.J. Choi, Sweden Robert Karlsson, Thailand Thongchai Jaidee 5 5 Sep 2010 Omega European Masters1 67-61-68-67=263 −21 3 strokes Italy Edoardo Molinari 6 18 Nov 2012 UBS Hong Kong Open1(3) 65-67-68-65=265 −15 1 stroke Sweden Fredrik Andersson Hed 7 8 Dec 2013 Hong Kong Open1(4) 70-67-65-66=268 −12 Playoff Thailand Prom Meesawat, Wales Stuart Manley

1 Co-sanctioned with the European Tour

Champions Tour wins (3)

No.

Date

Tournament

Winning score

To par

Margin of victory

Runner-up

1 20 Apr 2014 Greater Gwinnett Championship 65-70-67=202 −14 2 strokes Germany Bernhard Langer 2 25 Jan 2015 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai 69-64-66=199 −17 1 stroke United States Mark O'Meara 3 3 Apr 2016 Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic 68-70-64=202 −14 2 strokes United States Scott Dunlap

Other wins (3) 1988 Open de l'Informatique (France) 1989 Benson & Hedges Trophy (with Xonia Wunach-Ruiz) 1999 Oki Telepizza – Olivia Nova (Spain)

Results in major championships
Tournament

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP CUT U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP T28 DNP DNP DNP T23 The Open Championship T80 DNP T51 CUT T89 CUT CUT DQ CUT PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP T13 T24 DNP DNP T10

Tournament

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Masters Tournament T49 T10 T9 CUT DNP T31 T11 T44 T8 T46 U.S. Open T2 CUT DNP DNP DNP CUT T16 DNP T6 CUT The Open Championship T26 T3 CUT DNP T47 DNP T41 T12 CUT T13 PGA Championship T64 DNP DNP DNP T31 T40 DNP CUT CUT T36

Tournament

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Masters Tournament T12 T27 56 DNP 4 CUT U.S. Open CUT CUT CUT DNP CUT CUT The Open Championship T27 T25 T9 T13 CUT CUT PGA Championship CUT T64 T27 T29 CUT CUT

DNP = Did not play CUT = missed the half-way cut DQ = Disqualified "T" = tied Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament

Wins

2nd

3rd

Top-5

Top-10

Top-25

Events

Cuts made

Masters Tournament 0 0 0 1 4 6 16 12 U.S. Open 0 1 0 1 2 4 13 5 The Open Championship 0 0 1 1 2 6 22 13 PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 1 3 15 10

Totals

0

1

1

3

9

19

66

40

Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (1999 PGA – 2001 Masters) Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

Results in World Golf Championship events
Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

Tournament

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Cadillac Match Play Championship R64 QF DNP DNP DNP R64 R32 R32 R64 R64 Cadillac Championship T2 T25 NT1 DNP DNP T16 T41 DNP DNP T26 Bridgestone Invitational T27 36 T36 DNP DNP T27 57 T54 DNP T10

Tournament

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Cadillac Championship DNP T63 T55 T45 DNP T13 DNP Cadillac Match Play Championship R32 R64 QF R16 DNP R64 T34 Bridgestone Invitational T6 T22 72 DNP T4 T45 DNP HSBC Champions DNP T41 T38 DNP 72 71 T46

1Cancelled due to 9/11 DNP = Did not play QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = Tied NT = No tournament Yellow background for top-10. Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Senior major championships
Tournament

2014

2015

2016

The Tradition DNP DNP DNP Senior PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP Senior Players Championship DNP DNP T2 U.S. Senior Open DNP T17 The Senior Open Championship T8 4

DNP = did not play CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place Yellow background for top-10.

Team appearances
Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Spain): 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 (winners), 2000 (winners) World Cup (representing Spain): 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013 Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1999, 2004 (winners), 2008, 2010 (winners) Seve Trophy (representing Continental Europe): 2000 (winners), 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 (winners) Royal Trophy (representing Europe): 2012 EurAsia Cup (representing Europe): 2014 (playing captain)