AUGUSTA, GA. – You may know him as the Mechanic, his preferred nickname. Or The Most Interesting Golfer In the World, the nickname conferred upon him by those who think he bears a resemblance to the star of a certain beer commercial.
This week, he is becoming the star of a tradition unlike any other — his bizarre, pre-round, Yoga-with-a-golf-club stretching routine that has made entire galleries turn away in horror.
He's Miguel Angel Jimenez. He likes wine, cigars and golf, probably in that order. He's 50, carries around the gut of a man whose considerable earnings buy him many considerable meals, and he shot the best round of the Masters in the third round on Saturday, gyrating his way into an improbable place on the leaderboard.
"Beautiful day there, just light breeze sometime,'' the Spaniard said in heavily accented English. "Great to play golf on a day like that.''
A day after shooting a 76, he shot a 66 on Saturday, leaving him tied for fifth entering the final round, two shots behind the leaders.
"If you are 50, that doesn't mean you cannot play well,'' he said. "I'm still moving. I'm still flexible. I still hit the ball — I hit the ball longer than ever.
"The main thing through the years, when you reach the 50s, it's not about how you feel now, because the people take more care of themselves and are more healthier at this age, no? Probably the main thing is that I'm doing what I like in my life, and I'm enjoying it completely.''
That's always evident. Jimenez plays with such obvious joy that his competitiveness is easily overlooked, but he said Saturday that he will avoid playing certain senior events available to players 50 and older so he can compete for a spot on the European Ryder Cup team. If there is a player who would symbolize the difference between the attitudes of European golfers and Americans, it might be Jimenez, who would rather light a cigar than lift a dumbbell.