Jimenez: Wine, cigars and smiles

AUGUSTA, Ga. - In a perfect world, Miguel Angel Jimenez would shoot a second-straight 66 and win the Masters today.

Why? Because as many have already called him, he is The Most Interesting Man in Golf.

Just listening to him at his post-round press conference Saturday at Augusta National made you want to make dinner reservations at Rae's Coastal Café, Jimenez's favorite Augusta restaurant, and have a three-hour feast replete with the best wine the cafe offers.

According to Golf.com, last year Jimenez called Rae's during a practice round to make a dinner reservation for himself and a dozen Spanish countrymen.

'Yes, we can do that,” said a Rae's employee, 'but aren't you supposed to be at Augusta National today?”

Jimenez whispered that he was indeed there.

'You know you can't have cellphones out there?” he was asked.

'Why do you think I'm calling you from the bushes?” Jimenez replied.

Oh, and there's this: Jimenez is 50, years older than anyone who has won a Masters. Jack Nicklaus was 46 when he won the tourney in 1986.

Jimenez joined Ben Hogan and Fred Couples as the only 50-year-olds to shoot a 6-under par 66 in the Masters. That lifted him from 3 over to 3 under, and tied for fifth place, two shots behind 20-year-old Jordan Spieth and 2012 Masters champion Bubba Watson.

In a sport seized by devotees of strength and cardio training, one of the names on the Masters leader board frequently has a glass of fine wine from his homeland before playing 18 holes of competitive golf. He always has a fat cigar dangling from his lips on the practice green.

What golf coach or trainer ever encouraged that regimen?

But Jimenez does exercise on the practice range. It's a series of unconventional stretches that has been known to captivate fans.

'Probably it's funny,” he admitted. 'Sometimes I'm looking at myself on video, and I'm laughing to you. It's nice, it's bueno. But you know what is the main thing? I never get injured.”

Not because of golf, anyway. He broke his right shinbone in a skiing accident late in 2012. He returned to golf four months later and was quickly competitive as a 49-year-old. At 50, he has the lowest 18-hole score of anyone in this year's Masters.

As for those stogies, Jimenez smokes four or five a day. But not during competitive rounds.

'I don't want to lose my cigar out there,” he joked Thursday.

He wears his slightly graying red hair in a ponytail. He drives a red 1999 Ferrari 550 Maranello when home in Spain. He doesn't like cross-trainer shoes, preferring all of his several dozen pairs of shoes custom-made of pure leather by a Milan craftsman.

Does that not all add up to The Most Interesting Man in Golf?

Oh, and he's really good. Jimenez is a 20-time winner on the PGA European Tour. He has played in four Ryder Cups. He has eight top 10s in majors. He tied for second behind Tiger Woods in the 2000 U.S. Open. He said winning a major would be 'the flower on top” of his career.

As has been mentioned a time or two million, Woods isn't here. He's recovering from back surgery. Jimenez is more potbelly than hard-body, but he's here on the leader board going into today.

'The thing I recommend to the young people is just enjoy what are you doing,” Jimenez said. 'Make exercise to be healthy, not to get overdoing.

'It's difficult after 25 years. It's my 26th year on Tour. And probably some people say 'That's so many years, that's got to be hard and that's got to be hard on the body.' No, I love what I'm doing, and I hope I'm still in the same conditions for another 25. I'm not going to get bored of myself.”

You will see many contenders today who experience the kind of tightness that can't be eased by stretching. Jimenez, a patient player who has won in places ranging from Thailand to Belgium to Dubai, probably won't be consumed by nerves.

'The main thing is enjoy yourself, enjoy what you're doing,” he said. 'And smile, because you can't forget to smile on the golf course.”

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