Miguel
Angel Jimenez the enigmatic Spaniard is
back in action at the Spanish Open at the grand age of 48 years old after
breaking his leg skiing near his home in Malaga.
Jimenez said: “My leg is improving daily. I
work out every morning in the gym and I’m actually a little ahead of schedule
on my rehab. I am not 100 per cent fit but I want to test myself and see how I
feel.
“I can’t
wait to be back on Tour with my friends and I’d hate to miss the chance of
playing at El Saler.”
Jimenez
played his first Spanish Open 30 years ago and this will be his 599th career appearance this
week.
He added:
“For me it’s the best course in Spain and I love all the holes. Once you play
at El Saler you get hooked. It’s such an enjoyable course that you keep wanting
to come back.”
This
week’s event is the only tournament to be played in Spain in 2013 due to the financial crisis,
but has attracted a strong local contingent, including Sergio Garcia and
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, who finished eighth and 20th respectively in The
Masters at the weekend.
“I am
delighted to be in Valencia, obviously tired coming straight from Augusta but
happy to be in Spain,” Fernandez-Castano said.
“El Saler
is an indescribable course, there aren’t many left like it, a work of art that
must be kept and cared for as if it were a Goya or a Picasso.
Hopefully
we will get some wind, which is its main defence, to add to the spectacle.
“I’m
happy with my game the last few weeks. I am bittersweet about the Masters
because I feel I could have done better, although I was there over the weekend
and I played with Tiger (Woods) on Saturday. I had already played with him, but
Augusta made it more special.
“It’s a
shame that we have only one event in Spain this year, and that’s the reason why
I am here. Had it been a different tournament, I would have taken a break, but
it’s my national Open.”
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