At this weeks Open de Andalucía de Golf ’09 Soren Kjelden scrambled over the last three holes to pull away from second place finisher David Drysdale. The two were even after fifteen, but on sixteen Kjelden put his ball in the water. He scrambled to make par and went on to birdie seventeen. He played the final three in even par while Drysdale staggered in with bogey on seventeen and double bogey on eighteen. The dramatic finish was just what host Miguel Angel Jiménez wanted, short of winning the tournament himself. Jiménez played host to the field at his home course. Jiménez has been taking a more active role active in the promotional end of the game and has been promoting golf in his homeland. Miguel will be taking his game to the Masters tournament in two weeks and will be looking to contend at Augusta with the world’s best.
Miguel will have a distinct advantage over most of the field at Augusta and it has nothing to do with his game. It has everything to do with his “cool.”
In the measure of the “coolest” golfer, Tiger Woods may be the choice of most fans. After all, he is the best golfer, rich beyond comprehension, powerful enough to have his own Gatorade and has a swimsuit model for a wife. That’s a pretty cool life. Unfortunately you can’t buy “cool”. Cool is born. Cool is in the genes. Tiger is pretty cool but it was an acquired cool. My choice for coolest golfer isn’t Tiger, or Camilo, or AK or even Tommy Armour III. It is Miguel Angel Jiménez, the coolest guy in golf.
If you have a chance to see Miguel on the course, you’ll see a man that is self-assured and focused, happy and at ease, and so comfortable with himself that he exudes confidence and composure, but most of all cool. Miguel struts along the course with a bold stride and elegance that tells you he is his own man. He is well known for his trademark ponytail and is easily identified by his profile. He is no flat belly, but rather his physique shows the accumulation of a life well lived. As he walks from shot to shot, shoulders back, head high, he is no longer a golfer, he looks more like a toreador entering the ring.
Miguel caddied as a youth and started playing golf at fifteen, later than most professionals. He is one of seven brothers, turned pro in 1982 and has spent most of his career on the European Tour. He has fifteen career victories and was number four on the European Order of Merit in 1998,’99,’04 and 2008. He enjoys fine wine and fast cars. Miguel is nicknamed the “Mechanic”, but he is more at home behind the wheel of his Ferrari.
Jiménez has played well enough throughout his career to play on three Ryder Cups. He was the oldest member of the European team at the Ryder Cup last year and is looked up to as a true gentlemen and sportsmen by his teammates. He is recognized by his fellow golfers as a man of fierce competitive drive, but at the same time one who displays respect and class at all times.
The Jiménez mystique is well known in the golfing world. He enjoys the finer things; good cigars, great wine, superior food, fast cars and good friends. He denies that he is the coolest, but that is what makes him even cooler; his ambivalence towards any attempt to label him. He is a world class golfer, a husband and father, a unique individual and a true character. He is the coolest guy in golf.
