Jimenez can cement Ryder place at Czech Open
Miguel Ángel Jiménez goes into this week's Czech Open with one eye on the Ryder Cup. The Spaniard currently occupies the eighth automatic qualifying position for the tournament - thanks to Martin Kaymer's victory at the PGA Championship this past weekend.
That victory saw the 25-year-old German bumped up the world points list in the Ryder Cup standings to No. 3, guaranteeing his entry to the Ryder Cup. And that rise on the world list also had the side effect of promoting Jiménez from ninth to eighth in the overall table. If Jiménez can retain that position over the course of the next two weeks, he will automatically qualify for the team that captain Colin Montgomerie takes to Celtic Manor in October.
Jiménez has a hefty advantage at this week's European Tour event, too; he helped design both courses at the event, which opened in 2001 and 2003. The cigar-loving 46-year-old is understandably one of the favourites for this week's tournament at Prosper Resort, in part because a number of the more accomplished players are sitting this one out after the PGA Championship.
The event in the Czech Republic is penultimate chance for players to score points for the Ryder Cup, but for Jiménez, who is skipping next week's final event at Gleneagles, the 17-time European Tour winner will be keen to put in a good performance here.
A word of caution however; though he may have overseen the design of the two courses hosting this tournament, Jiménez is hardly master of them, last year he finished in 17th place here. On similar terms with the gym-shunning Jiménez in the eyes of the market is Sweden's Peter Hanson, another contender for a Ryder Cup place. Hanson has three top-10 finishes this year in Europe, including a victory at the Mallorca Open, and a win at the Czech Open would see him edge in front of Jiménez.
Other contenders who can leapfrog the Spaniard for a Ryder Cup place with good performances in the next two weeks are England's Ross McGowan and Simon Dyson. Unlike Jiménez, all three players will be present at next week's Johnny Walker Classic, too, giving them further chances to finish ahead of Jiménez.
With Justin Rose, Luke Donald and Padraig Harrington all out of the automatic qualifying places, plus Paul Casey at risk of dropping out of the automatic placings, if Jiménez doesn't qualify automatically he is unlikely to make it onto the team as a wildcard pick - though at this point, there are no certainties.
Earlier this month, captain Montgomerie even suggested he could take Germany's Bernhard Langer, the 52-year-old currently playing on the Champions Tour in the US. Langer won two senior majors in the space of a few weeks earlier this summer; might the veteran be capable of squeezing out some of Europe's highest-ranked players?
In all likelihood, the Scot was merely answering diplomatically in conveying the impression that Langer had a serious chance at turning out for Europe.
Then again, since when has Montgomerie specialised in diplomacy?
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