Miguel Ángel Jiménez Crowned Champion at the Kaulig Companies Championship
In an exciting golf day, Miguel Ángel Jiménez won the Kaulig Companies Championship, adding his fourth victory of the season on the PGA Tour Champions. Jiménez demonstrated his skill by forcing a playoff and finally defeating Steven Alker with an impressive 20-foot birdie putt.
Jiménez, who was two strokes behind after Alker, his playing partner, birdied the 16th hole, responded with determination. He holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole and another from 18 feet on the 18th hole, tying the score.
Both golfers, 61-year-old Jiménez and 53-year-old Alker, began the final round tied at the top of the leaderboard at Firestone South. Both players finished with a score of 2 under par 68, for a total of 10 under par 270 in this major championship.
In the first playoff hole, both players parred the 18th hole. Jiménez missed an 18-foot birdie attempt, while Alker holed a 3.5-foot putt, taking the match to a second extra hole.
Before Jiménez’s winning putt, Alker missed a 20-foot birdie attempt after a recovery from the trees to the right of the fairway.
This triumph represents the third major title for Jiménez, following his victories in the Regions Tradition and the Senior British Open, both in 2018. Furthermore, this victory secures him a place in the upcoming The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. The Spanish golfer has 17 career victories on the over-50s circuit.
In February, Jiménez had already defeated Alker by two strokes at the Trophy Hassan II in Morocco. Subsequently, he won the Hoag Classic in March in Newport Beach, California, and the Principal Charity Classic, in a playoff three weeks ago in Des Moines, Iowa.
Stewart Cink finished in third place with a score of 8 under par, after a round of 66. Steve Flesch placed one stroke behind, with a 65.
The U.S. Senior Open will begin on Thursday at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
