Enigmatic charm of Miguel Jimenez

Jimenez has mastered the art of living life and winning at golf

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Jimenez has mastered the art of living life and winning at golf

 

Special feature by Anand Datla

 

January 28, 2015:

The man with the golden pony and a weathered visage is unlike your average golfer in not just appearance. His moniker, “the mechanic” alludes more to his passion for driving expensive vehicles such as his flaming red Ferrari. The 51 year old professional is admired just as much for his ability to survive inconsistency as he is revered for his unlikely longevity on the Tour. Miguel Angel Jimenez will be in India this February to charm us all with his golf and manner at the Indian Open.

 

Savour the experience, for Miguel Angel Jimenez is an anti-thesis to the modern sportsman. Not one to be crafted inside the gymnasium and endless hours of striking golf balls, Jimenez has followed the tide and savoured his life.

 

Underneath the veneer of seemingly carefree attitude though is a fiery will to win. Just last week Jimenez birdied six of the last nine holes to win the Mitsubishi Electric Championship on the Champions Tour.

 

“I give all my life to golf, and golf gives me all my life,” he told an interviewer some four years ago. “I just want to say that golf is a beautiful game and it has given me a beautiful life.” He was once asked the secret of his longevity. “There is no secret. Good food, good wine, good cigars and some exercise!” said Jimenez in his inimitable style.

 

It is this rare understanding about life and sport that has held the Spaniard in good stead through the years. Jimenez has won 14 of his 21 European Tour victories after turning 40. The Andalucian with an avowed fondness for wine and cigars also has an undeniable hunger for a good round of golf.

 

And this ability to build his life around the game has carried him from a caddie and auto service shop worker to one, who is now spoken of as a likely Ryder Cup captain.

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