Gym rats at Rogers Charity Classic? Fitness a major key to PGA Tour Champions success
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Not just on the leaderboard as the No. 1 golfer heading into the Rogers Charity Classic, but as an élite athlete who seriously takes care of his 61-year-old body in the face of advancing age.
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'Well … he likes his stretching routines,' said fellow tour veteran Steve Alker, during the tour event at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club. 'Yeah … he's got some different moves. It's pretty entertaining, to be honest, and a little bit intimidating, you know.
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'But he's a guy that I've seen working out a lot stretching and staying in shape.'
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With four tour wins and US$2.691 million in prize money so far this season, Jiménez is tops — by a wide margin — on the rest of the field.
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'What can you say?' said Alker, who's among those pursuing Jiménez — in third spot — at $1.84M after Stewart Cink at $1.99M — on the leaderboard. 'I mean … it's experience. Miguel's won all over the world, and he's still winning now. So it just goes to show you he's in good shape. Miguel's always worked hard on his game and stayed in shape, and that's why he's doing well right now.
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'All these things kind of add up to playing well. And then age doesn't really matter out here too much, you know. You look at Bernhard Langer and what Miguel is doing right now, so even guys in the 60s are still competing very well. For us younger guys, we got to just keep at it and don't take fitness for granted.'
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Some do nothing — that's well-documented — and fly by with only the talents bestowed on them by the golf gods.
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Others are all cardio.
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'Some guys don't work out at all, and some guys are religious about it, so there's a whole mix,' said 54-year-old Alker. 'It's just getting that balance right, getting your ducks in a row and doing what works for you, and then you go from there.
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'I think what I've found from playing the PGA Tour and European Tour is I've kind of got smarter. I practise a little bit less and work harder on the body, and that seems to work for me.
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