As the US Open drew to a close last week the leaderboard alongside the 18th green was packed full of European Tour Members with Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jiménez leading the way in joint second place.
Els has won the title on two previous occasions while Jiménez was playing in only his third US Open and making his debut at Pebble Beach. At the end of an outstanding week the Spaniard had produced the best performance by a continental player in the 100-year history of the US Open Championship, a performance which further underlined his world-class status.
Jiménez is a classic late developer who, during his first ten years on Tour, could be relied upon to put in a solid performance and win the occasional title. But it was not until he won the first of his two Tuespaña Masters titles in 1998 that Jiménez stepped up a gear to become one of Europe’s most consummate professionals, ready to challenge the best players in the world in the best tournaments in the world.
Like many of the great Spanish golfers, Jiménez started his career as a caddie before starting playing at the age of 15. He turned professional in 1982, aged 18, but it was not until 1988, on his fourth visit to the Qualifying School Finals, that he graduated to the European Tour. Over the next few years he progressed steadily, finishing 85th in the Volvo Order of Merit in his rookie year and improving each season until recording his maiden victory in the 1992 PIAGET Open at Royal Zoute.
Jiménez finished 14th in the Volvo Order of Merit that year and although 1993 passed without a win, he again entered the winner’s enclosure with his triumph in the 1994 Heineken Dutch Open. Runners-up finishes in the Honda Open and the Trophée Lancôme and a further seven top ten finishes helped elevate him to fifth in the Volvo Order of Merit.
Jiménez continued to put together some strong performances during the next three years but victory eluded him. He did however play a major part in Europe’s victory in the 1997 Ryder Cup at Valderrama in his native Spain as vice-captain to Seve Ballesteros. Although Jiménez had at that stage never experienced the thrill of Ryder Cup competition, his support throughout the week was invaluable and the dramatic victory gave him a taste of the big time. Indeed his experience of 1997 made him more determined than ever to actually play in the Ryder Cup.
The following May, the week he discovered his wife Monserrat was expecting their second child, Jiménez claimed his third European Tour trophy by edging out compatriot Miguel Angel Martin for the Turespaña Masters – Open Baleares. From that moment Jiménez’s star has been in the ascendancy and he continued to produce performances of the highest quality in many of the premier events on the European Tour. Top ten finishes in the Deutsche Bank – SAP Open TPC of Europe, BMW International Open and Canon European Masters and runner-up in the Smurfit European Open told part of the story but it was his victory in the Trophée Lancôme which emphasised he possessed the game to beat the best.
Needing a three on the last to overcome the cosmopolitan challenge of the World Number Two David Duval, the reigning Masters and Open Champion Mark O’Meara, Sweden’s Jarmo Sandelin and New Zealand’s Greg Turner, Jiménez conjured up a shot of pure genius, chipping in from the left of the green to secure victory. It was a shot that earned him the Canon Shot of the Year Award and Jiménez went on to finish the season fourth in the Volvo Order of Merit, his highest placing.
He continued 1999 in much the same vein, successfully defending the Turespaña Masters – Open Andalucia title at the Parador Malaga de Golf club where he learnt his golf. It was a victory that essentially sealed his place in the European Ryder Cup team travelling to Boston. A month later he was runner-up in the Peugeot Open de España and by September Jiménez had recorded another six top ten finishes.
At The Country Club, Brookline, Jiménez made his Ryder Cup debut and played superbly, winning one match and halving two. Partnering Padraig Harrington in the opening foursomes, the two European Ryder Cup rookies secured a valuable half against Davis Love III and Payne Stewart. In the afternoon fourball matches Jiménez paired up with compatriot José Maria Olazábal with devastating effect to defeat Hal Sutton and Jeff Maggert 2 and 1 to help Europe open a 6-2 lead at the end of the first day.
On the second morning, again partnering Harrington, the European pair were narrowly defeated by Tiger Woods and Steve Pate on the last, but Jiménez and Olazábal bounced back in the afternoon to secure another half point against Justin Leonard and Sutton.
A month later Jiménez continued his great season by becoming the first Spaniard to win the Volvo Masters when he shot a closing 65 for a 19-under-par total of 269 at Montecastillo. It was his second victory in his native Andalucia and he was able to head to Valderrama for the inaugural WGC – American Express Championship full of confidence.
Buoyed by local support Jiménez rose to the challenge in a thrilling climax to the season. Bidding to win a third title in Andalucia, the 35-year-old moved to centre stage once again. His was a magnificent final round performance in which he matched Woods shot for shot, particularly around the turn as Valderrama came alive to Augusta-style roars. Jiménez narrowly failed to hole his chip on the last and the pair finished level on 278, six under par. The contest moved into a play-off where Woods, with a birdie at the first extra hole, secured his eighth title of the year.
It was a truly gallant effort by Jiménez and helped him to finish the season fourth in the Volvo Order of Merit for a second successive year.
This season Jiménez has continued to challenge for the big tournaments, reaching the quarter finals of the WGC – Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship at La Costa and finishing in the top ten in both the Benson and Hedges International Open and Deutsche Bank – SAP Open TPC of Europe, and then, of course, came the US Open.
“I am very proud of what I have achieved,” he said. “My goal when I went to Pebble Beach was to finish in the top ten but I never thought I would finish runner-up. I’ve been playing well for some time but struggled with my putting. At the US Open everything worked very well, my game and my putting. It’s always nice to be contending with the best players in the world.”
Jiménez has now won €724,347 (£457,599) on the European Tour this season and almost $600,000 on the US Tour but the trappings of success will not change this quiet Spaniard. His first stop upon returning from Pebble Beach would undoubtedly have been to a bar in Churriana, the small town where he was born and raised, for a beer with a few friends. Few players have worked as hard on their game as Jiménez, and he is now looking forward next month to the challenge of St Andrews and the prospect of winning the Open Championship.
2000 season
1999 season
1998 season
