KITCHENAID SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 25, 2021

Miguel Angel Jimenez

Press Conference

Southern Hills Country Club

JOHN DEVER: We would like to welcome Miguel Ángel Jiménez to the interview room here at the 2021 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship here at Southern Hills Country Club. 35 plus victories worldwide during your career, you have two PGA TOUR Champions victories this year, raising your career total to 10, and a slew of top 20s beyond that. So I would best guess that your game is rounding right into form, is it not?

MIGUEL ÁNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Well, it's very good. This year the form is going a little bit up-and-down. Don't quite finish at the level I would like to, but I feel good. Hitting good the ball and I was hoping tomorrow is going to be better.

JOHN DEVER: What part of your game is clicking right now?

MIGUEL ÁNGEL JIMÉNEZ: My part of the game that is not on my side is probably on the putting green, no? Without being putting bad or not -- holing putts, but not holing enough putts, probably that is the weakest part of the game now.

JOHN DEVER: Let me ask you about your history here. It's been a number of years, you've competed in major championships here. What do you best remember about Southern Hills and when you heard about it were you excited? Talk about the golf course.

MIGUEL ÁNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Well I was excited to come here. I remember the first time I come here was 2001 at the U.S. Open. Retief Goosen won here.

And then in 2007 for the PGA? Yeah. 2007. And how about --as far as I remember it's a nice golf course and it's nice to be back here. Pretty sloping greens, very fast, as far as I remember on that part. But, you know, we'll see.

JOHN DEVER: Now is it nice that -- not as many major championships last year as we were all dealing with COVID -- is it nice to get back in the groove -- you played well at the Regions Tradition a few weeks ago, but is it nice for you to get back in the groove of major championships and lock you in focus-wise? Does that bring out the best in you?

MIGUEL ÁNGEL JIMÉNEZ: No, of course. Because at the end you want to win the majors because of everything, you know, you want to be on top of that, you expecting the majors coming, no? As you said, last year we missed all of them and then we are looking forward to be back on the track.

JOHN DEVER: Is there any one aspect to this golf course that you remember? Was it the length --

MIGUEL ÁNGEL JIMÉNEZ: I cannot tell you. The only thing I remember of the golf course is they have very slopey greens. And I remember in one of the hail storm in 2001, the hail storm that we have to come in the next day. And then I think the 15th or the 16th hole, I think it's a very fast green, the flag on that position. And I remember putting for birdie for like three meters. Got the lipout and go like a meter and a half, two meters down. Uphill, putting that way, pass the lip, coming back to the same spot. I remember that they are very, very fast greens. That's what I remember when I played here.

JOHN DEVER: I can see why you would remember that. That's pretty distinct.

MIGUEL ÁNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Yeah.

JOHN DEVER: Now nice is it though, in general, to get a major championship like this routed back to championship courses and stages that you played back in the day on the regular tour? Is it important for the guys here to still be able to challenge these type of golf courses?

MIGUEL ÁNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Yeah, of course. You see the way the people hit the ball, the way they carry the ball from the tee and the way they hit the irons and the chipping and putting, you know, it's really not much different with the two, no? You have probably a difference with the most young people coming with top clubbed speed and the ball speed is coming, it's probably a little bit too much compared with us. But the median, the average, we are not that far away.

And I think we're nice to coming back to play on these courses, no? I think the next year is going to be the PGA here, no? And probably going to play the golf course maybe a little shorter, not much shorter, but it's not much different really. And the average golfer and the champion golfer on the TOUR with the carry distance, I think. Maybe it's a, the big difference that we are coming back in our life and the young people are going forward.

JOHN DEVER: Last question for you. The fans. I don't know the week to week how many fans have been out on the PGA TOUR Champions, but there's going to be a significant number of fans here. The Tulsa community loves golf, you've seen that from your previous visits and we're going to have some real numbers here this week, especially as we emerge out of COVID, I think they're going to be excited to see you. How much -- and the rest of the field -- how much, how important is that to you to get the electricity and the charge from them?

MIGUEL ÁNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Always you can see the difference probably, no? Being without them and then with them on the golf course, no? All the cheers for the golfers around there and people enjoy them self and it's more different. It's, the golf course or any sport, we can say any sport, when you don't have the people around there, it's different. It's nice because we are professionals, we do our job, but we like to see people that are having fun and enjoying and the cheers and say "hey" or whatever, you know, it's nice, it's part of the TOUR, the way I see it.

And I welcome all of them, I hope all these people who living around the area, the people coming from anywhere, just coming up to here to Southern Hills and enjoy the golf and enjoy the professional golfers, how we manage the golf course.

JOHN DEVER: Everybody wins. Miguel, I hope you can get a win this week, it would be terrific. Best of luck to you and maybe we can he see you again as the weekend forges forward.

MIGUEL ÁNGEL JIMÉNEZ: Sure. I hope it happens.