Rogers Charity Classic leader Miguel Angel Jiménez 'pushing everybody to be their best' on PGA Tour Champions

Yahoo

4 days ago

The short-term challenge for stars of the PGA Tour Champions circuit is to win the 2025 Rogers Charity Classic.
The long-term goal is to capture the coveted Charles Schwab Cup.
Trouble is the same man — in fact, 'The Most Interesting Man in Golf' — stands in the way of both achievements.
That's Miguel Angel Jiménez, the top-ranked player on tour and the confident one-stroke leader heading into Sunday's final round at Canyon Meadows Golf Club.
'He's kind of set the bar at the moment,' said New Zealand's Steve Alker, referencing Jiménez and his game both this weekend and throughout the 2025 season.
'He's pushing everybody to be their best,' continued Alker. 'I mean … what he's done this year in leading the money list, we've got some chasing to do. So every week, we're just going as hard as we can.
'You're probably going to need to pick up some victories to catch him.'
First thing's first …
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Alker or anybody else in contention needs to pick up some strokes Sunday on the 61-year-old Spaniard just to get one victory.
If not, that would mean another tournament win for Jiménez — his whopping fifth of the calendar — to further distance himself from the field.
Right now on the Schwab Cup money list, the colourful — and talented — 61-year-old boasts a cash grab of US$2,691,638. The next-best earner is American Stewart Cink on $1,991,382, while Alker himself follows third with $1,839,930.
That's already a large gap favouring Jiménez.
And the way he is playing, it seems the $375,000 winner's cut at Canyon Meadows is already in his pocket, making the chase to catch him on the season all the more challenging.
On Saturday, he swung a magnificent eagle and seven birdies. The '2' hole-out on the par-4 eighth hole — using a nine-iron from about 130 yards — showed his swagger. He celebrated with by sheathing his weapon into an imaginary scabbard on his hip and then doing the cha-cha.
'Normal celebration when you make an eagle on a hole,' said Jiménez cheerfully. 'Must celebrate … no? Put the (sword) there (in the sheath), and I do (the dance).'
Perhaps even more impressive was how he shook off a trio for bogeys, including those to start both nines, and didn't let a few shots off trees rattle him in posting a 7-under 63 and his tourney-leading 14-under 126 through 36 holes.
'I never miss a shot, you see?' said a joking Jiménez. 'Sometimes the trees come to be (in my way), you know?
'No … I'm human,' he continued. 'But overall, it's very fine. The game from the tee, apart from two or three holes, is very solid.
'Just the thing is you have to understand nobody's perfect.'
Jiménez himself has been darn near perfect on the year, which has made for quite the challenge for the others on tour.
And they know it.
'His standard of golf is certainly lifting everybody,' said Australia's Richard Green, whose magnificent 8-under-62 Saturday was the day's best to put him one stroke back of Jiménez. 'Obviously to compete with Miguel, you've got to be pretty much on your game. But he's got the runs on the board and the wins under his belt, which just helps with that background confidence.
'The win's within him, so everybody kind of knows that. And the guys that are chasing probably haven't won as much, so the pressure is on a little bit more.'
After five runner-up finishes last year, including here at the Rogers Charity Classic, Green himself hasn't won yet on the PGA Tour Champions.
But he's the guy with the next-best score — a 13-under-par 127 — to that of Jiménez heading into the final round.
Alker then headlines a trio of next-up candidates to win Sunday, alongside raw rookie Tommy Gainey — who just turned 50 and made it through the qualifier to earn his debut — and Argentina's Ricardo Gonzalez, on 12-under 128. Gonzalez won the PGA Tour Champions' Trophy Hassan II last year in Morocco.
Aussie Green himself is drawing from another source — that being redemption — to top the world leader Sunday.
Green was the leader after Day 2 here last year but couldn't close the deal in the final round. And Ken Tanigawa ended up as the 2024 champ, with a 17-under 193 — two shots better than runner-up Green.
'I made a couple of changes to my game and a couple things that are a little bit different to how they were last year, and whether that makes a difference here, I'm not sure,' said Green, when asked if he can draw from last year's shortcoming at Canyon Meadows. 'The main thing is to be in a position with nine holes to play (Sunday). You know … focus on hitting good shots. It's all I can really do — just play each shot at a time and each putt at a time and do my best.'
His best to catch a man on fire.
That's no easy thing.
'Miguel's obviously having an amazing year, and he's going to be tough to beat,' added Green. 'So I'm going to have to play my absolute best golf.
'I'd have to say that (Saturday) was pretty close to some of my best golf. So if I can continue to do that, I'll be very happy.
'But it's the universe that will pick the winner.'
These days, that universe — the one with the golf gods — seems to be siding with Jiménez.
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