Tag Archives: Miguel Angel Jimenez

Jimenez Antes Up Own Money to Keep Spain Event Alive

by Scott

Getty Images

I’ve always liked Miguel Angel Jimenez. He strikes me as a fun, down-to-earth personality who loves the game for many more reasons than the lifestyle the game itself has afforded him…. you can sense that “tradition” isn’t just a cliche in his world. And then you read an article that talks about him personally doling out his own money to cover half of the tournament purse at a hometown event that he desperately wants to save, and that only reinforces the perception I’ve always had of him.

“It is very important for me that this tournament goes forward and all I am trying to do is do my best,” said Jimenez, whose company promotes the event. “With the way the economy is at present, it is difficult to stage any big sporting event because it is not easy to find sponsorship money. So, while it would be very easy for me to give up I don’t want to give up and want there to be a tournament in this region of Spain.”

The Andalucia Open begins this Thursday, by the way. It would only be fitting if he were to win it this week.

Miguel’s not your typical Touring Pro. He doesn’t have a nutritionist, instructor, sports psychologist, or a PR guy showing up at every event he plays in, that’s not his style. In fact – he looks like just another character that you’d see showing up at your local daily fee course, ready to tangle with the slow group ahead. Then again – he’s so laid back that he’d just take the opportunity to enjoy a few drags from the Cohiba that he likely has gritted between his teeth and partake of some friendly banter with his playing partners. He loves his drink and smoke, a real man’s man. You don’t get the nickname “The Mechanic” on the golf course because of your love for finely-tuned transmissions. But what he has, however, is a finely-tuned golf swing that has more than held its own since 1982, when he first turned professional. In fact, his game is probably no different than the fine wine he enjoys – better with age.

You’d think that a guy his age would spend a few hours in the Tour fitness trailer or enjoying a relaxing hour in the sauna prior to the round, but that’s not his routine. His warmup routine is no different than any of those characters at your daily fee course.

You gotta love a guy who just shows up to the course about 25 minutes prior to his starting time, and is ready to tee it up 15 minutes later….

Rory McIlroy Adds Name to Growing List of European Players to Snub PGA Tour

by Scott

The PGA Tour used to be considered the world’s biggest stage in golf, and in most circles still is. And that’s saying a lot, especially considering that the PGA Tour schedule remains very active, not to mention increasingly lucrative, despite a global economy that continues to struggle untangling itself from the financial tailspin from a few years ago.

Indeed, Commissioner Tim Finchem has been very active behind the scenes shoring up the tour’s longstanding title sponsorship partners, as well as taking the lead in ushering in new ones. Only one tournament from this season will not be back next year – The Turning Stone Resort Classic. And that had more to do with scheduling than anything else. Overall, Finchem has meticulously navigated his tour through some of the choppiest financial waters that the tour has faced in decades, and done so amazingly well. Matter of fact, maybe too well…. as in running the risk of saturation.

A month or so back, the world’s top ranked player Lee Westwood wasted little time declining an invitation to join the PGA Tour on a full-time basis. Westwood cited family obligations first and foremost, but also admitted that he was a better fit for the European Tour overall. Then shortly after winning the PGA Championship, Martin Kaymer became eligible for PGA Tour membership as well, but Kaymer’s agent recently hinted that a rigid PGA Tour schedule wasn’t something that his player would look forward to… and would most likely follow Westwood’s lead in declining the offer and maintaining his allegiance to the European Tour. Then two weeks ago another ominous rumor was circulating that Rory McIlroy was considering doing an about-face on the PGA Tour next season, a rumor that came to fruition last week as the young Irishman announced he would be playing golf full-time on the European Tour in 2011.

Cause and Effect?

One could make a weak argument that the Ryder Cup has spurred this sudden sense of tour allegiance… Englishman Paul Casey was ranked well inside the top 10 in the golf world rankings this season, but was snubbed by Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie as one of his captain’s picks. Another Englishman – Justin Rose – had arguably one of the best seasons of his career this year, winning twice on the PGA Tour. But like Casey, Rose was overlooked as a potential pick to play in this year’s Ryder Cup. No offense to Miguel Angel Jimenez, but there was no logical reason for Monty picking the aging 46-yr-old over two of the season’s top European stars, other than the fact that Jimenez has remained one of the biggest loyalists of the European Tour throughout his entire career.

But the strongest argument to be made goes well beyond tour loyalty. What we effectively have now, especially with the infusion of the four World Golf Championships, is a global tour where the top stars can pick-and-choose to play in the biggest events of the season. And they can do so without running the risk of losing status on one particular tour, while at the same time accruing tons of prize money and world ranking points. This “double-dipping” has essentially enabled players from all over the globe to earn enough money playing in golf’s biggest 4-5 non-major events to maintain a comfortable existence back home on their own tours.

The fact that these three world-class players would forgo the opportunity to win $10 million in the season-long FedEx Cup Points Race leaves nothing to be said about just how good the money has become in professional golf. That’s something that Commissioner Finchem is going to have to come to grips with in the coming years, as we will begin to see fewer and fewer top stars in the game opting out of the PGA Tour Rat Race… at some point more money becomes the problem and not the solution.

I fear that we might already be there.