World No. 1 Rory McIlroy may have missed the cut at the European Tour’s flagship event, but there has been plenty of entertainment for golf fans at the BMW PGA Championship this week.
Miguel Angel Jimenez reminded everyone why he’s one of the game’s most popular players as he celebrated his third hole-in-one this season with a trademark dance in Saturday’s third round in England.
The 51-year-old Spaniard, known for his love of cigars and fine wine, became the first European Tour member to reach 10 career aces as he surpassed Colin Montgomerie to claim the outright record.
Jimenez holed out from 154 yards with a nine iron at Wentworth’s par-three second hole, to be four shots off the lead in fifth place ahead of Sunday’s final round.
While he won 288 bottles of beer for his ace at this month’s Spanish Open, this time Jimenez — whose nickname is “The Mechanic” — was given champagne to mark his milestone.
There was no prize for acing the second hole — which Craig Lee also managed on Thursday — but Andrew Johnston won a sponsor’s car when he found the cup at the 10th during the opening round.
“You get the right distance, the right club, hit a good shot and that’s the ingredients you need to make a hole in one. It’s nice to have the record,” said Jimenez, who also aced on the final day at Wentworth in 2008 when he won the tournament.
Jimenez carded a four-under-par 68 Saturday to be one behind England’s Tommy Fleetwood, who also had the gallery in raptures after sinking an albatross two at the par-five fourth hole.
The world No. 54 carded a seven-under 65 as he plundered the par-fives with an eagle and a birdie, while also parring another for a “perfect set” of scores.
“That was about as good as you can play a hole of golf,” he said of his albatross. “Perfect drive, 198 yards to the pin. I was thinking one (club) less but went with a normal seven iron and it pitched seven or eight feet right of the pin and span in.
“My caddy was pretty excited because it was his choice of club, not mine. You have to try and calm down after that, and I fired a five iron miles over the green on the fifth with a little bit of adrenalin.”
Fleetwood was one stroke behind third-placed Thai Thongchai Jaidee, who shot 68, while Italy’s Francesco Molinari was tied for the lead with South Korea’s An Byeong-Hun on 14 under for the tournament.
An, playing his first season on the European Tour, birdied the last two holes as former Ryder Cup star Molinari blew a three-shot lead.
Molinari, ranked 66th in the world, will clinch a place at this year’s U.S. and British Opens if he can claim his fourth European Tour success.
Defending champion McIlroy, meanwhile, missed the halfway cut after slumping to six-over 78 on Friday. He opened with a 71, throwing his club down the fairway after a poor shot.
“If anything good comes out of this, it’s just that I get a couple of days over the weekend to refresh mentally,” said McIlroy, who was seeking his third win in four weeks.
He will play at next week’s Irish Open, which his charity will host at Royal County Down.