A small step back. This is how the moving day of Miguel Ángel Jiménez (PAR) at Congressional Country Club can be defined. His first over-par round in this Senior PGA Championship drops him to 19th place. The victory becomes very complicated for the Spaniard in the second Major of the year.
Anything can happen, but at the moment Jiménez is five shots behind the leading quartet formed by Phiilp Archer, Retief Goosen, Jason Caron, and Ángel Cabrera tied at five under par. The Argentine, improving as the week progresses, is already tied at the top and seeks to win his second consecutive Major after winning the Regions Traditions just five days ago.
The man from Malaga has suffered from the conditions of a course that is becoming increasingly difficult. Congressional has shown its teeth. The lead started at six under par and is now at five under. Jiménez’s chances are there, he is within the famous five-shot range, although it is also true that he has many rivals in between. He started four shots off the lead, now he is five. A small concession.
Two cursed holes have jeopardised his chances. The 3rd and the 8th, both resolved with double bogeys, have hindered his options, even though the day started with a birdie on the second hole. In the second half of the round, the ‘Pisha’ managed to eliminate mistakes from the equation, but only scratched a birdie for a total of 74 strokes, even par overall and the leaders five shots ahead.
That said, don’t count him out, we know what he’s capable of. He will also seek his second consecutive top ten in Majors, the twelfth in his senior career. Specifically, in the Senior PGA Championship, he had six participations and five top tens to date, only missing out in 2024. The consistency Miguel Ángel shows in this circuit is quite impressive.
The best round of the moving day was delivered by Lee Westwood (-4), who with a round of 68 strokes is just one shot behind the leaders and will fight this Sunday to win the PGA Championship. Tied with Westwood is Stewart Cink (-4). Among the main favourites to catch the leaders are Thomas Bjorn (-3), Padraig Harrington (-3), and Vijay Singh (-3).
Ángel Cabrera, for his part, seeks to become the fifth player in history to win both the Regions and PGA in the same season. The club includes Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Bernhard Langer, Alex Celjka, and Steve Stricker. These are no small words.
