Miguel Angel Jimenez reveals he has spend his own money to stage Open de Andalucía
The grizzled Miguel Angel Jimenez, co-host of this week’s Open de Andalucía, has now revealed that he had to spend his own money to ensure that the event can be kept on track.
Jimenez, also part of the field, is currently ranked 51st on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) and is the highest ranked player in the field after the surprise withdrawal of Paul Lawrie two days ago.
Jimenez has been hosting the event alongside European Tour for quite a while but this is the first time the 21-time European Tour winner had to spend his own money to stage the event.
Despite of the harsh realities, Jimenez is not letting go and has vowed to fuel the event even in extreme scenarios.
He said, “It’s very easy to say ’Give up,’ but I don’t want to give up, to me it’s important that this tournament is going forward, I think the Tour deserve that and the people deserve that. It’s very difficult, but I’m doing the best I can”.
48-year-old Jimenez has a blistering career on the European Tour and has won many accolades for his home country. He has 18 European Tour titles on his belt and is the 11th highest winner on the tour.
Starting from early age, Jimenez switched over to professional career in the year 1982. He won his first European Tour event in the year when he took over the weathered Barry Lane in 1992 at Piaget Belgian Open.
He represented Europe in the coveted Ryder Cup five times and guided them to victory for four times.
For the moment, Jimenez is now edging towards the culmination of his mainstream golf career as he is now already 48, one of the prime reasons he is hoping to continue being the host of the home tour event on the European Tour.
He added, “My focus is all over the place. This is not easy and the most important thing is not my game.”
Turkish Airlines, which were the official sponsors of the Open de Andalucía last year, decided to pull out of the contract, leaving the event in shadows.
Jimenez along with the help of tourist board and councils, managed to raise a winner’s prize share of £140,000 this year.
Meanwhile Lawrie’s sudden withdrawal also dealt a severe blow to the event as he was the highest ranked player in the field.
Lawrie has already won a European Tour event this year and has done amazingly well and his exit at the last moment dealt a severe blow to the credibility of the event.
Lawrie said, "I sent Miguel Angel Jimenez a text to say sorry but I'm not well enough to play, I hope he understands, I have spent all day on the couch, one minute sweating and the next minute freezing”.
The event is on the roll for the moment although it is still not sure whether Jimenez will be able to continue fuelling the tournament from his own pocket.
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