Miguel is on the cusp of ending long wait for first major

MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ’S 28-year quest to win a major championship may be about to end today at Carnoustie after the popular Spaniard produced a flawless thirdround 65 in the Senior Open.

Jimenez has enjoyed a remarkable career since turning 40, but the 52-yearold has still to capture one of golf’s most sought-after prizes.

‘That would mean so much to me,’ he admitted. ‘The best period of my career has been the last 12 years. I won the Mallorca Open just before I reached 40 and then, in 2004, I had five victories and since then almost everything has happened.

‘But I’ve never won a major. I was very close in The Open at Lytham in 2001, when David Duval won and I also led at halfway at Muirfield three years ago.

‘I’ve also been very close in the Masters and the US Open when I finished joint second at Pebble Beach in 2000. Tiger Woods won by 15 shots and I won the other competition!’

Jimenez has a four-shot advantage over four players at 11 under par and he felt relaxed enough last night to dine out in style.

He revealed: ‘I am going to do exactly the same thing I did the previous night — go with my friends for a nice dinner with a bottle of Rioja and then a big, fat cigar and a Lagavulin malt. But relaxing on the golf course to me is not caring and I care a lot.

‘Every morning, I go to the physio truck to work out on the machinery there before I practice. I also work out with weights.

‘I keep on learning because I still want to compete and fight and to do that you need to keep yourself in good shape. It was a very nice day on the golf course and now it would be fantastic to win here at the home of golf. That would be amazing.’

Bernhard Langer, champion the last time the event was staged at the Angus links in 2010, is eight shots off the lead after posting a third successive 71.

But the 58-year-old German has not given up all hope of capturing an eighth major in nine years since joining the over-50s circuit and his 102nd career title.

Already a winner of two of the five senior majors this year — the Regions Traditions in May and the Senior Players Championship three weeks later — he was also a champion in 2014 when he beat Colin Montgomerie by a staggering 13 shots at Royal Porthcawl.

Langer, winner of a total 28 Champions Tour events, got to within four shots of the lead at one stage before shedding two shots over the last three holes.

But he said: ‘I think that I played all right. I just had a tough finish after going into the bunker twice and didn’t manage to make the up-and-downs.

‘I think my tactics have been good but I haven’t been making too many putts and I’d rather be two or three in the lead than a few behind because it isn’t easy to make a lot of birdies on this course.’