Jimenez record round opens big lead

Buoyed by an invitation to play in the U.S. Masters that emerged from his fax machine Friday evening, Miguel Angel Jiménez launched himself into an extraordinary scoring burst Saturday that swept him into a big lead going into the final round of the Turespaña Masters.

Jiménez, who lives just down the road from the Parador Malaga del Golf course near Malaga, carded a 62 that was packed with eagles and birdies. He broke the course record by one shot. Spaniard Ignacio Garrido set the previous mark on Friday.

His total of 19-under-par 197 gave him a five-shot lead over Per-Ulrik Johansson, the Swede who lives in nearby Marbella, Frenchman Marc Farry, Steve Webster and Garrido, the tough little Englishman.

Jiménez, the defending champion in this event, was practising on the putting green on Friday evening when Monserrat, his wife, called to tell him that a 20-page fax had arrived from Augusta inviting him to play in his second Masters -- he played in 1995, but missed the cut.

By the time he arrived home, the fax had grown to 40 pages -- the Masters organisers had sent their original 20-pager again in the mistaken belief that their original transmission had not hit the target. The missive might have depleted his fax-roll, but Jiménez was not complainng.

Jiménez, vice-captain to Seve Ballesteros in Europe's Ryder Cup victory over the United States in 1997, was deeply disappointed when he failed to be asked to play in the Masters despite finishing fourth in the European tour Order of Merit in 1998.

He did not qualify through a top-50 place in the world rankings, but he hoped his lofty finish in the money list might have been enough. When the call did not come from the tournament committee at Augusta National, he lost hope. Obviously, the masters of the Masters had second thoughts.

He played some remarkable golf on Saturday, sprinkling two eagles and six birdies in his 10-under-par round. "I played fantastic today, but I have been playing all week,'' he said. "It was the best round of my career, and I'm very pleased with the way things have gone.

"I think I have a good chance of winning, but I know that nothing is won until the last putt goes down.''

Jiménez, 35, wasted no time challenging the overnight leader, Fredrik Lindgren, He eagled the first with a 4-iron to 15 feet and a single putt, then birdied the next two with putts of 18 and 20 feet.

His putter was red-hot throughout the round, but he consistently gave himself chances with crisp medium and short irons. He put a 6-iron to three feet on the sixth and sank the putt, then holed from 15 feet on the eighth on his way to reaching the turn in 29.

He played sound, unspectacular par golf for five holes, but caught fire again over the closing stretch. He chipped to two feet and holed the birdie putt on the 14th, then drained a monster from 30 feet for an eagle on the 16th.

He closed his birdie act with another big number on the 17th, this time playing a magnificent sand-wedge shot from a bare, scrubby lie under trees to 25 feet. From 10 feet out, the ball was never going anywhere else but in the hole.

Johansson, never one to get carried away by the mere fact of a low score, had a low opinion of his golf and an equally high one of his putting. "I played awful today, but putted good,'' he said. "If Miguel plays like he did today, nobody has a chance of living with him, but if he plays normal, maybe I can put some pressure on him.

"I've got to get my long game going again pretty soon if I am to have a chance of winning. It was going well at the start of the year, but I've lost some form lately. I'll have to get on the practice ground and see if I can iron out the problems.''

Johansson, who bought a new putter when he was competing in the Tucson Open last month, has lightened his grip on the club. It paid handsome dividends. He twice sank birdie putts from 12 feet on the front nine and picked up a shot on the eighth with a 15-footer.

But the tournament looks like it's Jiménez's to lose, and, a few years ago, he might have let the pressure get to him. He used to be a famously good player for the first three rounds and a notoriously poor one in the last. But he's a much tougher customer these days; he has the mark of a champion on him