– Miguel Ángel Jiménez is playing this week at the Omega European Masters at the Crans Sur Sierre Golf Club in Crans Montana, Switzerland. It’s an almost unavoidable event for the Andalusian: he played this tournament for the first time in 1989 and since then has only missed the 2015 edition (it wasn’t held in 2020). It’s quite remarkable as he has played it across five different decades.
– This is his first appearance of the year in a DP World Tour tournament, marking 39 years (1987-2025) of playing at least one tournament on the tour. Another impressive feat underway.
– It’s true that last year he missed the cut, but in 2023, two years ago, he still opened with a 65 on Thursday. And in 2021, at the age of 57, he still finished in a more than decent 27th place… Although he did worsen his result from 2019, when he finished 23rd, five shots behind the winner at the age of 55. You can always expect a little feat from him in Crans Montana, even this year, of course.
– Miguel, in Switzerland and wherever he appears alongside the younger players, is always the standard-bearer of the Spanish Armada, which this week is completed by the presence of thirteen other players: Manu Elvira, Alfredo García Heredia, Joel Moscatel, Iván Cantero, Eugenio Chacarra, Ángel Ayora, Alejandro del Rey, Nacho Elvira, Ángel Hidalgo, Jorge Campillo, Albert Boneta, Rafa Cabrera Bello, and Santi Tarrio. The chances of Spanish golf securing its ninth victory on this course and in this tournament likely depend on these thirteen… Or do they intend to place this responsibility on Jiménez as well? Only England has won more times (10) since the tournament joined the European Tour calendar, which was from the start (1972). Alfredo García Heredia came close last year but lost in a playoff to Matt Wallace.
– Miguel, by the way, is going to play his 724th tournament on the European Tour and will be just two behind the man who has played the most tournaments to date, David Howell (726), who is not in Switzerland. It’s a battle the Spaniard is likely to lose, but with Jiménez, you never know. He continues on his path, and the others can follow.
– It almost doesn’t need mentioning, but just in case: Miguel won this tournament in 2010, fifteen years ago, when the Crans Sur Sierre Golf Club course was still played by professionals in competition as a par 71. Since 2014, when they transformed hole 1, a par 5 for years, into a long par 4, it has been played as a par 70.
– It seems that the weather forecast is not going to make it easy for Miguel or anyone else, as rain is expected on Thursday and Friday, with even the possibility of a thunderstorm on the second day. However, this is nothing that will scare or impress Jiménez at this stage… By the way, it’s always worth remembering who won the tournament in 1989, the first time Miguel played it. Exactly, it was Seve, who won it for the third time. Always leading the way.
