Miguel Ángel Jiménez is one of the most charismatic Spanish players today, to the point that he stands out on his own merits among the most prominent representatives in the history of our golf, considering his record, impact among fans, and international respect.
The famous golfer from Málaga, who in this spectacular start to the year has achieved three victories, up to his sixteenth, on the Champions Tour – the American Senior Circuit – boasts an extraordinary personal sporting history, having played in more than a thousand tournaments worldwide, not counting the many competitions held nationally in our country, such as the Spanish Championships, etc.
Twenty years competing outside Spain
Such a number of tournaments spread across four major circuits (the two regular and the two senior in Europe and the United States) amounts to an astonishing 20 years competing internationally, which means 20 years outside Spain, a figure not recorded until now after doing the basic calculations of one week per tournament.
“I had never calculated it that way,” confesses Miguel Ángel Jiménez. “I kept track of the seasons I’ve been travelling around the world, but I hadn’t seen it like that,” admits the Málaga native, who describes it as incredible to have set this record because “when you start, you never think about achieving something like this. I’ve travelled a lot playing on different Tours, and reaching this point and looking back at what you’re telling me seems incredible to me.”
His sporting career has been equally incredible, competing with the best players from four different generations, as he recalled on the European Tour website: “I’ve played with Seve – our mentor – Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Colin Montgomerie… with players from different generations.” And he is still competitive at 61 years old.
Miguel Ángel Jiménez became the second golfer in history to reach the milestone of 700 tournaments played on the European Tour, behind Scotland’s Sam Torrance, and is now the second player with the most tournaments played, with 723, only behind England’s David Howell, who has 726 at the end of the 2024 season.
Competing on both the European and American circuits (regular and senior in each case), but present worldwide since he earned his card at the 1988 Qualifying School, it is not easy to accurately state the number of international tournaments he has played, as the validation of some competitions for several circuits complicates the task. However, it can be established in any case that he surpasses the 1,000 mark.
A way of living, a way of relating to golf
Fully immersed in the middle of his 37th season as a professional, he assures that all this has happened to him “without stopping hitting the ball around the world, because this is what I like. It’s a way of living, and my whole life is related to golf. My brothers, my children, my wife, we all play golf, and looking around, I think there’s no better way to live than hitting the ball.”
With 21 European Tour titles to his name, Miguel Ángel Jiménez broke the record for the oldest winner on the circuit by winning the 2014 Open de España at 50 years and 133 days, “but I don’t think about records. All I want is to keep enjoying playing golf and making birdies, which is what I like. When I see that my results aren’t progressing and that I’m not competitive, I’m sure I’ll stop enjoying the competition, but for now, I’m fighting for the top spots on the Champions Tour, and we’ll see what destiny has in store for me.”
But success doesn’t come at no cost. In the case of Miguel Ángel Jiménez, he points out that “what hurts me the most is having missed things with my children when they were little, and I spent many weeks competing abroad. I think that has been the biggest sacrifice of my career, the greatest effort I’ve had to endure to do what I like.”
Often, people from the outside focus on the lucrative prizes offered today. But prizes aren’t offered; they are earned. “Nothing falls from the sky. Only water falls when it’s cloudy,” Jiménez points out. “Everything is work, sacrifice, and I’ve spent 20 years of my 61 hitting the ball abroad, according to the accounts. And I handle it well because I’m doing what I like, because this is a way of living, I insist, and my whole life is wrapped around golf. I live from it, and it has never hurt me, except for not having enjoyed my children more when they were little…”
Twenty years competing outside Spain means an enormous wealth of experiences with different people, with very diverse situations, of teachings, which Miguel Ángel Jiménez sums up in “respect and freedom. That’s the most important thing so many trips around the world have taught me. Respect for everyone else, because your thoughts being different from others doesn’t mean you’re right. Exchange of opinions, but with respect for the person in front. And the freedom and other values that golf teaches you.”
Miguel Ángel Jiménez, whose great professional career reached stellar heights after turning 40 in January 2004, has serious rivals on the Champions Tour, “where there are six-seven players who are always fighting for victory: Stricker, Els, Choi, Kelly, and the German Bernhard Langer, who is six years older than me, and no one can knock him out of the top spots. He has always been among the top, and on the Champions Tour, he is a living record.”
Langer is the one with the most victories (46) on the American senior circuit and has won another 40 on the DP World Tour (in addition to two Masters, which at the time were not part of the European Circuit), but he hasn’t been able to surpass Miguel Ángel Jiménez’s record as the player with the most victories (13) on the Circuit after turning 40.
Details of an impressive career
First victory in Europe, with Seve as a witness: 27 September 1992 – Royal Zoute GC (Belgium)
Not only as a witness but also as an adversary. Miguel Ángel Jiménez’s first triumph on the European Tour took place at the 1992 Piaget Belgian Open, just a few weeks after the Barcelona Olympic Games. Supported by a third-round score of 64, he left Seve, who finished third, and figures like Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, or Darren Clarke, all in Top 10 positions, without a trophy. A grand debut.
Debuting on the PGA Tour in 1995
This year, he made his debut on the PGA Tour in the United States, competing for the first time in his career in all four “majors.” On the DP World Tour, he didn’t achieve any victories, but he finished second in two tournaments, both held in Spain: Turespaña Open Mediterrania, behind Robert Karlsson, and Turespaña Open de Baleares, where Greg Turner won.
The Open de Baleares, turning point: 10 May 1998 – Santa Ponsa
To see his first victory on the Tour on Spanish soil, you have to go back to the 1998 Turespaña Masters Open Baleares. In Santa Ponsa, the player from Churriana won with two strokes less than Miguel Ángel Martín, who, along with Santi Luna, added Spanish flair to the week. That triumph marked a turning point in his relationship with success: another victory followed in 1998 and two more in 1999.
The Volvo Masters was the sixth: 31 October 1999 – Montecastillo Golf Resort (Cádiz)
The sixth triumph, that is. That Volvo Masters at Montecastillo attracted a group of excellent players: Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, Bernhard Langer – who shared second place – Ángel Cabrera, or Sergio García. In his Andalusian homeland, Miguel Ángel Jiménez earned his doctorate.
Baleares, once again a talisman: 19 October 2003 – Pula GC
Once again, Baleares was a talisman for Miguel Ángel Jiménez. After four years without touching metal, he obtained his seventh title at the Turespaña Mallorca Classic, held in Pula. Flanked in the standings by his great friend José María Olazábal, he experienced those days with a taste of a crucial moment in a career.
Pica at Wentworth: 25 May 2008 – Wentworth GC (England)
Miguel Ángel Jiménez achieved one of his most significant triumphs by winning the PGA Championship held at the legendary English course of Wentworth. The Málaga native claimed the tournament after an exciting play-off in which British Oliver Wilson was the loser. For posterity, he left a hole-in-one on the par 3 of the 5th hole in the final round.
Lee Westwood bows to MAJ: 7 February 2010 – Emirates Golf Club (Dubai)
Miguel Ángel Jiménez broke a two-year drought on the European Tour by winning the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, held at the Emirates Golf Club, which had a spectacular finish. The Andalusian defeated none other than Lee Westwood, one of the important men in European golf at the time, on the third play-off hole. Another of those moments always remembered in Jiménez’s career.
A love affair with the Ryder: 4 October 2010 – The Celtic Manor (Wales)
The Ryder Cup and Miguel Ángel Jiménez have maintained an affair since 1997 when he attended as vice-captain to Severiano Ballesteros at the iconic Valderrama edition. Since then, he has played in the 1999, 2004, 2008, and 2010 editions and has served as vice-captain again in 2012 and 2014. His love affair with the Ryder Cup could have continued with the always-discussed captaincy, but, as he declared in 2017, his time has passed.
A 2010 to frame: 16 December 2010
The 2010 Spanish Golf Gala was the perfect setting to pay a beautiful tribute to Miguel Ángel Jiménez’s career. At the event, a traditional meeting point for Spanish golf, the Málaga native was honoured, especially for the three victories he achieved on the European Tour that year: Dubai Dessert Classic, Open de France, and Omega European Masters. These achievements had to be added to his contribution to the European team’s victory over the United States in the Ryder Cup. A year to frame.
Victory and record: 18 November 2012 – Hong Kong Golf Club (China)
Miguel Ángel Jiménez wrote a new chapter in his sensational golfing history with his brilliant victory at the UBS Hong Kong Open, his third in that tournament. Besides taking the trophy home, he broke a record: he became the oldest winner on the Tour at 48 years and 318 days. As is known, that wall would fall not long after.
Hong Kong with an Andalusian accent: 8 December 2013 – Hong Kong Golf Club (China)
Miguel Ángel Jiménez’s twentieth victory on the European Tour coincided with his fourth at the Hong Kong Open. Well-positioned from the second round, the ‘Pisha’ signed a 66 to put pressure on his rivals in the final round. The tactic worked, and he forced a play-off with Thai Prom Meesawat and Welsh Stuart Manley, who succumbed in the decisive moment with a superb birdie from the Spaniard.
2014, another year to remember
MAJ divided his time between the PGA Tour and the European Tour, making his debut on the PGA Tour Champions successful, as well as being Paul McGinley’s vice-captain on the victorious 2014 Ryder Cup team. He won the Greater Gwinnett Championship in Georgia and became the 18th player on the PGA Tour Champions to win on his debut. He was also the third player to win on his debut from start to finish, joining Rod Funseth (1983) and Bruce Fleisher (1999). He also became the second Spaniard to win on the PGA Tour Champions, after José María Cañizares, who won the 2001 Toshiba Classic.
The dream victory: 18 May 2014 – PGA de Catalunya
A perfect, spectacular, and thrilling Open de España, with the best possible outcome, the victory of a Spanish player, Miguel Ángel Jiménez. He had been seeking this title for a long time, and it came to him at 50 years old, in front of a dedicated and enthusiastic crowd that carried him on their shoulders in the play-off against Richard Green and Thomas Pieters.
2015, a year of transition and consolidation
Once again, he competed worldwide with events on the European and Asian Tours, including six appearances on the Champions Tour. He was among the top 30 on the Champions Tour money list for most of the year, but he decided not to play in the final tournament of the season, which cost him a spot in that Top 30.
2016, the best putter on the Champions Tour
On the Champions Tour, he finished fourth on the money list, with just over $1.6 million, playing exactly half of the 26 tournaments that made up the season. Additionally, he led the putting statistics, with an average of 1.714 putts per hole.
2017, among the top five for the second consecutive year
He enjoyed another productive season on the Champions Tour, with $1,538,366 in official earnings and a fifth-place finish on the Charles Schwab Cup money list, finishing among the top five for the second consecutive year.
High-class golf for the first ‘major’: 20 May 2018 – Greystone G&CC (Alabama, USA)
Miguel Ángel Jiménez broke one of the few barriers he had left to smash with his first victory in a “major” as a senior player. The 2018 Regions Tradition was the first ‘major’ in the category to fall into the hands of a Spanish player. It had to be the Andalusian, showcasing high-class golf that led him to the final -19, who achieved such a feat.
The Senior Open, also for the ‘Pisha’: 29 July 2018 – St. Andrews (Scotland)
The fifth ‘major’ of 2018, The Senior Open, also ended up in the hands of Miguel Ángel Jiménez. This new success, moreover, took place in a special setting for any golfer, the legendary Old Course at St. Andrews (Scotland). On this occasion, he was the winner of the face-off with Bernhard Langer, whose mystique couldn’t overcome the Spaniard’s resistance, who was the leader at the start of the final round.
2018, another outstanding year
In addition to adding the two mentioned “majors” to his record, he was the only player to finish in the top 10 in all five “majors.” He achieved 13 top 10s and earned $1,939,093, the highest total of his career on the PGA TOUR Champions. He ranked third in the standings with an average of 69.18 strokes per round.
2019, six consecutive years adding victories
He was one of three players who finished in the top five in all three Playoff tournaments, including a victory at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic. Additionally, he tied for the best cumulative total in the Playoffs, with 45 under par, and extended his winning streak to six consecutive years. He finished twelfth on the official money list, with $1,295,482 in prizes.
2022, annual earnings record
He won the first tournament of the season in Hualalai, the Mitsubishi Electric, becoming the second three-time winner of the event (2015, 2020, 2022). He defeated Steven Alker on the second playoff hole to secure his eleventh victory on the PGA Tour Champions, winning at least once in eight consecutive seasons. He set a new record in his official earnings, with $2,247,749 in prizes throughout the season.
Once again, the sweet taste of victory: 8 February 2025 – Royal Golf Dar Es Salam (Morocco)
After a long two-year hiatus without a victory, Miguel Ángel Jiménez added his fourteenth triumph on the PGA Tour Champions by winning the Hassan II Trophy, where he prevailed by a two-stroke margin over Steven Alker, with whom he had started the final round tied. The Málaga native signed four under par in each of the last two rounds to secure his return to victory with an eagle on the 17th hole, par 4.
Second triumph in 2025: 23 February – Hoag Classic, Newport Beach CC (USA)
MAJ spectacularly extended his playing streak by winning his second tournament of the season, the Hoag Classic, in just fifteen days, where he surpassed golfers of the calibre of Stewart Cink, Ernie Els, or Fred Couples, with a marvellous and decisive birdie on the 18th hole, the seventh of his final round.
Third victory in 2025: 1 June – Principal Charity Classic, Wakonda Club (USA)
Miguel Ángel Jiménez achieved the sixteenth victory of his career on the Champions Tour, the third in 2025, after surpassing Danish Søren Kjeldsen and Australian Cameron Percy on the first playoff hole. The Spaniard’s birdie found no response in his rivals’ pars, always at the top of the leaderboard. Only four bogeys in 54 holes explain his result.
International tournaments played by Miguel Ángel Jiménez
The competition table attached requires some explanation, as there are data that will draw attention. For example, Miguel Ángel has participated in 14 editions of the World Cup (only four are included here) and in 10 Alfred Dunhill Cup tournaments, appearing in this summary with only 6.
In both cases, the reason is that in the other editions, one and the other competition were part of the official season calendar of the European Tour, and they are included in the global Circuit tournaments. Something similar happens with the tournaments valid for the PGA Tour and DP World Tour circuits, which are included only in the European global. And the same can be said regarding the PGA Tour Champions and Legends Tour events.
Circuit |
Tournaments |
| European Senior Circuit (Legends Tour) | 2 |
| American Senior Circuit (Champions Tour) | 196 |
| European Circuit (DP World Tour) | 723 |
| American Circuit (PGA Tour) | 63 |
| World Cup* | 4 |
| Ryder Cup | 4 |
| Seve Trophy | 8 |
| Sunshine Tour | 1 |
| Open de L’inforatique (France) 1988 | 1 |
| Eurasia Cup | 1 |
| Royal Trophy | 1 |
| Alfred Dunhill Cup* | 6 |
| Benson & Hedges Mixed Trophy | 1 |
Total |
1,011 |
