"The Mechanic."
"The Most Interesting Golfer in the World."
Most athletes aren't cool enough to have one credible nickname, let alone two. Miguel Angel Jimenez is a rarity.
Now a fixture on the PGA Tour Champions, Jimenez turned in a vintage performance last weekend, winning the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Ariz., in style. The Spaniard made not one but two aces over the weekend - one on the 7th hole in the first round, one on the 14th hole in the third and final round - en route to his four-shot victory over Bernhard Langer and Woody Austin. Both masterstrokes were with a 6 iron.
Take a bow, @majimenez1964.
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) February 28, 2022
Only nine players in the history of @PGATOUR have made two holes-in-one in a tournament.
Miguel did it and won. pic.twitter.com/i1xZuIm3tr
The Cologuard Classic's trophy is unique in professional golf: a conquistador's helmet. Donning it is more or less mandatory for the tournament winner. It has looked a little silly on other heads in the past; naturally, Jimenez pulled the look off.
In 2019, I had the opportunity to spend a 9-hole pro-am round with Jimenez at the Bass Pro Legends of Golf event at Big Cedar Lodge in Branson, Mo. On the boat ride to the island green of the 6th hole at the par-3 Top of the Rock Course, I took a photo of the general scene: boat drivers, caddie, the putting surface in the background. I didn't realize until later that Jimenez was looking straight in my lens, all while lounging in a corner of the boat. Here was a professional golfer in the middle of preparation for a tournament, and he was by far the most relaxed person in the vicinity. May we all aspire to that level of comfort on the course, in our own skin.
