Jimenez can still tame young lions

LONDON: Experience gained from two decades on the European Tour plus a relaxed approach is the combination helping Miguel Angel Jimenez tame golf's young lions.

That was the pony-tailed Spaniard's view after he beat Briton Oliver Wilson on the second PGA Championship playoff hole at Wentworth on Sunday to extend his tour record to eight victories while in his 40s.

"I'm 44 and after 20 years on the tour you just relax and enjoy yourself, that's the most important thing," said Jimenez after becoming the third oldest winner of the circuit's flagship event behind 46-year-old Dai Rees (1959) and 45-year-old Arnold Palmer (1975).

"I have been playing well all year. Sometimes the results are not what you want but you must keep enjoying playing well," he told reporters.

Jimenez has won 15 times in his career, including the Hong Kong Open earlier this season and the 1999 Volvo Masters, but he rates his PGA triumph above all the rest.

"This is probably the biggest one," said the extrovert former Ryder Cup player, who likes to relax off the course with a glass of Rioja and a big, fat cigar.

Hole-in-one

"This is the main tournament on the European Tour after the British Open. It is very important," he added after a hole-in-one at the short fifth had provided him with a big lift early in the final round.

Jimenez offered consoling words for the unlucky Wilson who has never won on the tour but has chalked up seven second-place finishes in his short career, including three in his last five appearances.

"He (Wilson) is a good player," said the likeable Spaniard after scooping the first prize of 750,000 euros ($1.18 million). "He has been on the leaderboard many times and is one of those hot young players coming through.

"One of these times he will win. I am fortunate it was not this time."

Englishman Wilson, 27, has improved in each of his three full seasons on the tour, finishing 97th on the Order of Merit in 2005, 71st in 2006 and 30th last year.

He has maintained that progress this season, climbing to second behind Jimenez in the money list with four second-place finishes in the PGA Championship, Italian Open, China Open and South African Open.

"I'm a little disappointed," said Wilson. "I played great all week and gave myself a chance coming down the stretch.

"I had not been in a playoff in a while and I suppose it (losing in sudden-death) is better than not being in one at all."

Agencies

(China Daily 05/28/2008 page22)