Miguel Ángel Jiménez had been a little on edge. It had been more than two years since his last hole-in-one in competition. Any other mortal wouldn’t be keeping count of that, or at least wouldn’t be particularly worried about it. A hole-in-one is extraordinary, one of the most exceptional things that can happen in a round of golf. Many golfers retire without ever having achieved one in a tournament. But in this regard, Jiménez is in a league of his own
That’s why, when the Malagueño achieved a hole-in-one this Saturday in the third round of the Senior PGA Championship, his first reaction was almost one of relief “I hadn’t had one in a couple of years…” An alien. That’s it. His numbers tell the story
The Churriana-born golfer explained after the round on Saturday that he now has 16 hole-in-ones in competition. The figure is staggering. Ten of them came on the DP World Tour, five on the PGA Tour Champions and now he adds one at the season’s first senior major
Jiménez achieved it at the 6th hole of The Concession Golf Club. After five consecutive pars, he hit a 7-iron with a bit of wind in his favour. The shot was simply perfect, just as he had pictured it in his head. It left on the line, bounced just before the hole and went straight through the middle. He couldn’t see the ball fall into the hole, but he quickly knew he’d done it from the crowd’s reaction
The hole-in-one got Miguel’s round going. From there, he made three more birdies at holes 12, 15 and 16 and finished with a bogey at 17. A round of 68 to move into seventh place with a total of -8. Jiménez has given himself a chance. He sits three strokes off the lead held by South African Keith Horne (-11) and two off a crowded second place: Thammanoon Sriroj, Steve Allan, Stewart Cink and Scott Hend. Without doubt, the clear favourite for victory is Cink, the runaway leader of the Charles Schwab Cup with two wins. Horne has nine wins on the Sunshine Tour and two on the Senior Tour de Europa, the latest in July last year
There is no better way to understand the high standard on the senior circuit than to look at the leaderboard of Henrik Stenson. The Swede, playing on LIV, not especially well, it’s true, but having played fairly consistently until last year, sits 30th with two rounds of 72 and one of 70. He turned 50 in April. It’s his first senior tournament
José María Olazábal (+5) had a poor Saturday with a round of 78. His card was severely affected by a quadruple bogey at the 12th hole
