U.S. Open: ‘The Mechanic’ to Tee Off With Spanish Comrades

THE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY groupings for next week’s U.S. Open are out. Miguel Angel Jimenez, nicknamed “The Mechanic” because of his interest in tinkering with sports cars (notably his red Ferrari), will tour Congressional Country Club with fellow Spanish pros Sergio Garcia and Alvaro Quiros. The trio representing golf in Spain will go off at 1:24 p.m. on Thursday and 7:44 a.m. on Friday.

(Note: There’s also an all-Italian grouping of Francesco Molinari, Matteo Manassero, and Edoardo Molinari that follows directly after the Spaniards. Two of them, of course, are brothers.)

Jimenez, an 18-time winner on the European Tour, including 11 titles since the age of 40, has had spotty results in nine U.S. Open appearances. His best finish was a tie for second in 2000 at Pebble Beach where Tiger Woods dominated the field. That was followed by a dry spell until 2008 at Torrey Pines when The Mechanic finished in a sixth-place tie. The last two years he missed the cut.

Jimenez resides in Malaga, a large coastal city on the Mediterranean Sea about 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of the Strait of Gibraltar. This glimmering stretch of coastline has become known as a golf resort destination. Golf Costa Del Sol stretches from Jimenez’s native Malaga to Sotogrande, and includes a number of top championship golf courses and resorts.

−The Armchair Golfer

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(Photo credit: Richard Carter, Flickr, Creative Commons license)