Miguel Angel Jimenez beat off a determined challenge from the Englishman Steve Webster to achieve a second successive Turespana Masters victory yesterday. Jimenez, who received a late invitation to Augusta last Friday, added a 67 to his record-breaking third-round 62 to post a 24-under-par total that has only twice been bettered on the PGA European Tour.
The Malaga-born Spaniard, who had four eagles and 10 birdies in his final 36 holes for a 72 hole score of 264, had four strokes to spare over Webster whose closing 66 edged him clear of the fast finishing Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin. It was a victory greeted with delight by hundreds of Malaguenos who flocked to the Parador course in anticipation of a home win for the 35 year old who has for so long played second fiddle in Spain to Masters champions Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal.
Jimenez was born and raised in the nearby village of Churriana and his new home at Benalmadena is only a 10 minute drive in the Ferrari he bought to celebrate his dramatic win in the Lancome Trophy in Paris last autumn. He achieved that with 1998's `shot of the year' when he sank a last hole pitch to beat Open champion Mark O'Meara and David Duval. This time he sank two bunker shots at crucial moments to secure a fifth European victory worth £60,000.
They were not the only strokes of fortune that Jimenez enjoyed after he had seen a seven stroke lead after six holes reduced to only one when he had five holes to play. At the 214 yards 11th, his pulled long iron was heading for a pond until it struck the foot of a spectator.
Earlier a first successful defence since Per-Ulrik Johansson's at the 1997 European Open at the K Club, had seemed a formality when Jimenez, setting out with a five stroke cushion, almost holed his three-iron approach to the long first before nonchalantly holing from six feet for his first eagle of the day.
He added birdies at the third and sixth, but then pulled his drive out of bounds at the seventh, and lost another shot after a poor chip at the short ninth to see his lead cut to only two. Webster, the 23-year-old from Atherstone, and the Swede Johansson had gone out in 32 and both birdied the 10th to share second place.
But Jimenez followed suit by sinking his first bunker recovery, and when the Warwickshire man got to only one behind with birdie fours at the 12th and 14th, repeated the feat at the latter. His final birdie from two putts at the 16th put him beyond reach. Two holes later he was blowing kisses to the gallery.
Webster's consolation was a runners-up cheque of £39,000.
