MARVEL JIMENEZ IS A RECORD-BREAKING HERO
SEBASTIAN Garcia Rodriguez shot a course-record 62 at the Forest of Arden and still wasn’t the man to put the hero into the Hero Open yesterday. The day, played out in Mediterranean sunshine, belonged almost entirely to the Malaga marvel, 56-year-old Miguel Angel Jimenez, who hit an incredible bogey-free 64 on the day he made a record 707th appearance on the European Tour. He finished the day tied second alongside Pablo Larrazabal, making it a Spanish 1-2-3. He finished two shots better than brilliant Danish teenager Rasmus Hogjaard. When Sam Torrance broke the appearance record in 2010, he promptly withdrew following a firstround 83. Jimenez, in contrast, played so well that he had eight birdies on his card and left a putt for another in the jaws of the hole at the 14th and then lipped out wickedly at the par-five 17th. At this rate, give him another couple of years and he will probably start shooting his age. He is certainly good for a few more appearances, even if he does play most of his golf these days on the Champions
Tour in America, where he has won two senior majors and seven other titles. ‘Miguel tells me the secret is plenty of red wine and olive oil, but no one should ever forget what a hard competitor he is,’ said the previous European Ryder Cup captain, Thomas Bjorn. Jimenez’s friend Jose-Maria Olazabal opined: ‘He’s setting a record that will never be broken.’ In another example of the tour’s fraternity, a terrific number of players gathered by the 18th green to make sure Jimenez was greeted by a crowd at the end of his astonishing round. Jimenez, who has won 21 tournaments in Europe, summed up what it all meant to him. ‘It’s been a magical day, beautiful weather, eight under par, and around the 18th green with all my friends clapping me. What a nice life. How could it get any better?’ After running to the scorer’s area, he was ushered away for a glass of vintage Rioja. So it probably did. Meanwhile, over in Memphis, Rory McIlroy suffered par-three trouble to make a poor start at the WGC FedEx St Jude Invitational. McIlroy, needing a win to regain the world number one spot from Jon Rahm, found water at the short 11th after starting his round at TPC
Southwind at the 10th. McIlroy prevented a double bogey getting on his card with a 20-foot putt, but he soon dropped another shot at the par-three 14th. McIlroy found the green this time, but three-putted to drop to two over par and his round failed to spark as he reached the turn in 37. Further bogeys on the fourth and fifth holes left him four over as his round drew to a close. Shane Lowry was level par after 12 holes, having recorded three birdies, a bogey and a double bogey, while Graeme McDowell was one over after 11 holes of his round. Rahm had an inconsistent start after his victory at the Memorial Tournament two weeks ago had taken him to the top of the world rankings. The Spaniard chipped in from a greenside bunker at the par-four 15th to move to one-under but dropped back to level-par following a wayward drive at the 17th. Bryson DeChambeau was in full flow with birdies at the 12th and 13th and an eagle at the 16th to get to four under par. Reigning champion Brooks Koepka opened with four birdies.