Jimenez
Still Has That
Extra Gear
BY PAUL MAHONEY, Special to GGP
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | Give that man
a cigar. Oh, don’t worry; he’s already got one.
Miguel Angel Jimenez outlasted World No. 4 Lee
Westwood on the third extra hole of a nervy sudden-death playoff to take the 2010 Omega Dubai Desert
Classic title and the $405,000 first prize. Rest assured the Rioja will be flowing for several days from
the spout of the Arabian coffee pot that is one of
sport’s most spectacular trophies.
Jimenez is called “the Mechanic” on Tour because he used to fix cars in a garage but, he said
Sunday, it also describes the methodical way he
plays golf. This is his 16th victory on the European Tour in more than 500 tournaments over 22
years of professional golf. All the more remarkable considering he hates flying. “I don’t like
airplanes; I’m in the wrong business,” he said.
It’s a tribute to his new-found fitness regime
(sweating every day in the gym for the past three
weeks) that his 46-year-old engine is still running strong and keeping pace with the super-fit
20-year-olds storming the game. Though it probably has just as much to do with his fondness for
the preservative qualities of fine wine.
“When I came on Tour in 1988, I was playing
against Nick Faldo, Seve (Ballesteros), Woosie
(Ian Woosnam), Bernhard Langer and Sandy
Lyle,” Jimenez said. “They are from the top of the
wave, the big explosion of European golf. They
were my idols and now they are off doing other
things and I am still here with the new kids, the
new era,” he said, laughing some more. To be
sure, he is showing them he can still play.
He was paired the first two rounds with Pablo
Martin (age 23) and Rory McIlroy ( 20), two rising
stars of the game with a combined age three years
shy of the old Spaniard. And yet he outscored them
all to become the oldest winner on the European
Tour since a 47-year-old Mark O’Meara won this
tournament in 2004. And he did it all with a friend
on his bag, having recently parted company with
his regular caddie. A vacancy still applies. Résumés, please, to the Caddy Shack, European Tour
HQ, London, England.
Jimenez’s ninth victory in his 40s propels him
into the World’s Top 30 and gains him a place in the
WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. “Like a good wine, I
get better and better with age,” he said. “Guys like
Rory McIlroy and Alvaro Quiros hit the ball so long,
it’s difficult for guys like me. But here I am.”
But there is still an empty column in his ca-
reer statistics – that elusive major championship
victory. He has racked up three top 10s in The
Masters and one in the PGA Championship. But
his best finish overall was a tie for third to cham-
pion David Duval in the 2001 British Open and T2
to Tiger Woods in the 2000 U.S. Open. “A major is
something I would love to have,” he said. “I hope
I have another chance to be on top of a leader-
board and have my chances to win one.”
Jimenez and Westwood are Ryder Cup team-
mates who know each other well. They crossed
paths coming in and out of the media center
Saturday night as joint leaders. “Not you again,”
said Jimenez joking. “Yeah, sorry.” Westwood
countered. They were the last men standing after
72 holes and bumped into each other behind
the 18th green, waiting for the playoff to begin.
“C’mon Lee, let’s go.” Jimenez said. This time
Westwood had his game face on. No time for
idle banter. For Jimenez, his extended life on
tour feels like a beautiful way to lead a life. But
“Guys like Rory McIlroy and Alvaro Quiros hit
the ball so long, it’s difficult for guys like me,”
Miguel Angel Jimenez said. “But here I am.”
for Westwood, it’s serious business. He’s on a
mission in his 30s to live up to the potential he
showed in his 20s.
Westwood said on the eve of the final round
that he wasn’t going to take on any sucker pins
but it was just that at the fifth hole that derailed
his day. He started off quickly with two birdies,
but a double-bogey at the fifth brought him back
into the pack with Jimenez. “I went for the flag
and I shouldn’t have,” he admitted. His manager,
Chubby Chandler, said: “The trouble with Lee is
that he is so good now that he sometimes can’t
stop himself from going at flags.” Another lesson
learned, perhaps, for the European No. 1.
Westwood has now finished third and second
in consecutive weeks. Not bad considering he is
traditionally a slow starter – 11 of his 14 top 10s
in 2009 came after June, including victory at the
Portugal Masters and the Dubai World Championship. He’s back training after taking six weeks
off over Christmas and his detox diet is, he said,
reluctantly, up and running.
“Sacrifices have to be made if you want to
be the best in the world. I haven’t had a drink
for four weeks. It feels like four years,” he said,
laughing.
One suspects that’s a training regime too far
for the affable Jimenez. Puffing on his cigar in the
media interview room (you don’t get that at Riviera and Pebble Beach), the laid back Mechanic
said: “I enjoy life on the course and life at home.”
The 46-year-old with a ponytail must be the oldest hippie on tour.
