May 18, 2014 – Miguel Angel Jiménez finally won the Open of Spain, played at PGA Catalunya Resort (Girona, Spain) at the 27th attempt to extend his own record as the oldest winner in European Tour history.

The Ping staff player let slip an early two shot lead before defeating Richard Green (Australia) and Thomas Pieters (Belgium) on the first hole of a sudden-death play-off after the trio had finished tied on four under par following an exciting final round.

The players returned to the 18th for the play-off and all three failed to find the fairway or green in regulation, but Jiménez almost holed his chip from the back of the green for a birdie and a par proved good enough. Green failed to get up and down from over the green and overnight leader Pieters, whose approach had come up short, saw his par putt catch the lip of the hole and stay out.

Jiménez has now won 21 European Tour titles, 14 of them coming since he turned 40, and Sunday’s hard-fought victory continues a remarkable season. The 50 year old was in contention to become the oldest Major Champion in history before finishing fourth in the Masters last month, and seven days later won on his Champions Tour debut.

He has since got married, and now become the first player to win twice on The Race to Dubai in 2014.

“There’s no words to describe what it means to me, you need to be into my skin but I’m not going to let you!”, Miguel Angel Jiménez said. “It’s amazing. It’s my 21st victory on The European Tour and 27 times I played the Spanish Open. I have been close a couple of times. Today it was very tough out there but I got it in the end.”

“All the victories are special, all are unique, some of them give you more money, some less, but all of them are important. You play to win and when you make it you have to appreciate it.”

Jiménez’s win leaves him just outside the automatic Ryder Cup qualifying places and boosts his ambition of becoming Europe’s oldest ever player at Gleneagles in September; Ted Ray was 50 years, two months and five days old at the inaugural contest in 1927.

“I would love to make The Ryder Cup team, I would break all the records at 50,” added Jiménez, whose last appearance was at The Celtic Manor Resort in 2010. “I hope I can make the team and defend the European colours in Scotland.”

Pictures: Jorge Andreu. Source: European Tour.

Por REDACCIÓN