Those familiar with the lore and legend will have no trouble envisioning the anecdote.
A couple of years ago, during the World Golf Championships event at Doral in Miami, Miguel Angel Jimenez wandered into the resort’s workout room one morning, a gym bag slung over his shoulder.
Jimenez dutifully logged a few minutes on the treadmill, towelled off, then reached into his bag to retrieve one of his trademark cigars, which he promptly placed in his mouth as he headed back to his room.
Clean living has its limits.
Now age 50 and playing better than ever, Jimenez has certainly earned his well-chronicled indulgences.
Of late, the European Tour bon vivant has been firing up plenty of victory stogies, not to mention lighting up the Ryder Cup points list.
Last weekend, he claimed the Spanish Open title in front of a partisan crowd, recording his 21st European Tour victory, which ranks 10th on the circuit’s all-time win chart.
The Spanish veteran has had an incredible spring, personally and professionally, particularly since he is supposedly in the autumn of his career.
The victory last Sunday established him as the tour’s oldest winner, the first to log multiple victories this season and one of the obvious favourites at the BMW PGA Championship, which starts today.
His itinerary would make a younger man wheeze. Though he has expressed little interest in playing with the older set – he is exempt in Europe through 2016 – Jimenez won in his US Champions Tour debut on April 18.
A few days earlier, the former US Open runner-up finished fourth at the Masters. Three weeks ago, on the grounds of his golf academy in Spain, he married girlfriend Susanna Styblo.
The victory last weekend boosted him to 25th in the world ranking and within reach of making his fourth Ryder team in September.
So, winning his first Spanish Open title, in his 27th attempt, was merely the latest in a series of turn-back-the-clock moments.
“There’s no words to describe what it means,” he said last weekend. “You need to be in my skin, but I’m not going to let you.”
He is plenty comfortable in his own skin, as anybody who has witnessed his hilarious stretching routine on the practice tee can attest.
Then there is his gel-laden hair, which Golf Digest compared to a Halloween “fright wig”.
Forget convention, though, since Jimenez clearly does things his own way. What comes next?
“I think Miguel could win a major, to be honest,” Italy’s Matteo Manassero said.
selling@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
More on Quran memorisation:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
INDIA'S TOP INFLUENCERS
Bhuvan Bam
Instagram followers: 16.1 million
Bhuvan Bam is a 29-year-old comedian and actor from Delhi, who started out with YouTube channel, “BB Ki Vines” in 2015, which propelled the social media star into the limelight and made him sought-after among brands.
Kusha Kapila
Instagram followers: 3.1 million
Kusha Kapila is a fashion editor and actress, who has collaborated with brands including Google. She focuses on sharing light-hearted content and insights into her life as a rising celebrity.
Diipa Khosla
Instagram followers: 1.8 million
Diipa Khosla started out as a social media manager before branching out to become one of India's biggest fashion influencers, with collaborations including MAC Cosmetics.
Komal Pandey
Instagram followers: 1.8 million
Komal Pandey is a fashion influencer who has partnered with more than 100 brands, including Olay and smartphone brand Vivo India.
Nikhil Sharma
Instagram followers: 1.4 million
Nikhil Sharma from Mumbai began his online career through vlogs about his motorcycle trips. He has become a lifestyle influencer and has created his own clothing line.
Source: Hireinfluence, various
Honeymoonish
Director: Elie El Samaan
Starring: Nour Al Ghandour, Mahmoud Boushahri
Rating: 3/5
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE (+4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar
Director: Luv Ranjan
Stars: Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Anubhav Singh Bassi and Dimple Kapadia
Rating: 3/5
How to avoid getting scammed
- Never click on links provided via app or SMS, even if they seem to come from authorised senders at first glance
- Always double-check the authenticity of websites
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for all your working and personal services
- Only use official links published by the respective entity
- Double-check the web addresses to reduce exposure to fake sites created with domain names containing spelling errors
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5