Eagle extravaganza as Jiménez soars at Euro Masters
Miguel Ángel Jiménez seized the momentum in the second round of the Omega European Masters this afternoon at Crans-sur-Sierre, leaving Italians Edoardo Molinari and Matteo Manassero trailing in his wake.
The Spaniard took the clubhouse lead with an outrageous 10-under-par 61, carding two magnificent eagles on the 9th and the 14th along with six birdies to take the outright lead on 14-under-par this afternoon to take a three-stroke lead - and the lowest round Jiménez has ever produced in 27 years on the European Tour.
This is the 22nd successive time that Jiménez has played the tournament, which takes place in the beautiful backdrop of the Swiss Alps, but the 46-year-old has not yet won here, though he has finished as runner-up twice.
This weekend he will be hoping to claim that elusive first victory, though the Italian duo seem likely to make things tough for Jiménez. Molinari is playing for his third win of the year, and second on the bounce, while Manassero seeks his first ever professional victory - and one that would guarantee him a place on the European Tour next year.
Molinari had earlier put together an impressive round of six-under to see him go 11-under for the tournament. But Jiménez and Manassero, both starting later in the afternoon, were soon challenging for the lead - at one stage all three players were tied, before Manassero dropped a shot on the 13th.
The 17-year-old recovered with an eagle of his own on the par five 15th to continue to press the Spaniard, only to follow that up with a bogey on the 17th. A par on the 18th saw him come home four-under on the day tied with Molinari for second place on 11-under.
In fourth place was Finland's Mikko Ilonen on 10-under-par, while England's Graham Storm was a shot further back on nine-under. But it's the gym-shunning Jiménez who stole the show today. "It was a beautiful day in the mountains," the Spaniard commented. "I was thinking 59 a little bit and I tried, but it was still a great round. All the clubs were working properly and that's what you need."
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