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OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSICFebruary 7, 2010Miguel Angel JimenezDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES MICHAEL GIBBONS: Miguel, thank you. You're a bit late. But you know, you got here. MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: We still did the golf tournament for three more holes. MICHAEL GIBBONS: But you got to the end to make it to the Dubai Desert Classic champion, how does it feel? MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: You know, many years coming here, and a few times with chances to win, and then, we have it here. I'm feel very pleased, very happy. MICHAEL GIBBONS: You made it difficult and exciting. MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: Difficult, exciting; every tournament is. MICHAEL GIBBONS: Tell us about the playoff. MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: The playoff, it was a playoff, you know, and Lee has an advantage. He hits it very long and he can go over the corner. I have to get it on the right side there. I have to play the hole like a par 5, like three-shot par 5. He has the chance to hit it in two. But a few chances for me. And I managed to make a par putt on the third hole and the ninth hole and made another putt and beat him, you know, it's like what happened in the playoff. All through the week, you cannot see that thing. All through the week, I've been playing very well, strong on the golf course, strong mind, and with good support with my caddie, with Mark. MICHAEL GIBBONS: Must be a special moment for him, his first time on the bag. MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: Yeah, it's very, very nice. He's living here. He's got a business here, and he's been caddying before and I know him very well. I see him every year here and he works for me this week, because I finish with my caddie this week. We really had a fun day and I really enjoyed the golf course. Q. I don't want to go into details about how you departed with your old caddie, but how much of a difference was the new caddie this week? MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: You feel that you have someone on your side. Before I was with Henrik, who is a great guy, a nice guy but I feel like I miss something there. You know, you need to change. It's he's not a bad guy. He's not a bad caddie. But I feel like I miss something there. With Mark, he's great. All of the things, it's there. It's beautiful. Q. And you've already said he's not going to be coming with you. You won't be short of applicants for the job, I don't think. Are you still looking for a new caddie? MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: Yeah, well, I already have a deal with another one who will start working for me in two weeks' time at the Match Play. But Mark, he has his business here and his family here, and I'm going to the States. I already offered to him to coming to work with me. He said, well, not at this moment. Q. Nine of your 16 titles now have come since you turned 40. MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: Half. Q. What does that say to the golfing world? MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: Like the good win wines, with age, they get better and better. Q. Do you feel as though there are more to come? MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: Well, playing like this, I feel comfortable and good on the golf course, is the key. I still know I am not 25 or 30 years old. I am just turned 46. I'm still healthy and still strong, not like 25, but still strong and still can play with the ball. And if I feel happy on the golf course and can focus on the golf course, then you can win tournaments. It's also difficult, with all of the new people, these new guns like Rory, Quiros, Westwood, all of these guys, the way they hit the ball. They are long off the tee, it's an advantage, and it's going to be much more difficult for guys like me who are in their 40s, it's normal. It's the way it is. But still here. Q. Tom Watson showed today you can go until your 60. MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: Look at that, you know, he is playing well and playing impossible golf. He comes in here for a week and lack some things and still he can play golf. It's unbelievable. It's a great inspiration for professional golfers, for the golfer on top of the wave. Q. Congratulations. You light the cigar, you like Rioja, how well do you like the gym? How often do you go to the gymnasium? MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: The last three weeks, I've been almost every day. I bring my trainer here, because I do nothing in the winter. I say, okay, I normally used to work a little in the winter at home, and this winter I do nothing and bring him with me and almost doing something every day. Not weights during the tournament round. Making weights Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays; a little bit, not much, you can see my body. (Chuckling.) But working a lot on the cardio and some abs and lumbar, that is the trick in the gym, and then the recovery afterwards, sit at the table have a nice steak, a nice bottle of wine. You need the balance. You cannot all only on one side. You need to keep balance. Q. Your World Ranking is going to improve to around 30, 31 we think. How does winning so early in the season change your goals for the year? MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: Well, the goal for the year is the same ones. It's enjoy yourself, focus on the golf course, enjoy yourself and everything yourself and everything will follow, and that is what I try to do. Now, like you say, of course, The Ryder Cup is a long-term target. After I stay in the Top-50 in the World Ranking, I'll be able to play different tournaments. Because I was around 60, probably was enough to play at the Match Play but not enough to play at Doral and now Doral is going to be there, also. And it's a little bit long still for the U.S. Open. That's the only one I am not exempt, but keep in the Top-50 until may will be the key to get in all of the majors. Q. Do you think there's still time for you to win a major, and is that something that you feel is missing? MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: That is something that all of the players likes to have in their career, and I would love to have a major in my career, and I'm still working, still doing my things. I'm still playing in those majors, and I hope I have another chance to be on the top of the leaderboard and have my chances to win a major. You people know how tough it is, but, I would love to have the opportunity in my career. Q. I know it's a long way off still, but you've been a great team player in The Ryder Cup before, you must have one eye on that now, to have a go in The Ryder Cup again. MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: Yeah, well, like I said before, The Ryder Cup is something that it will show through the year. I will be very pleased and very proud to be part of the team again, Monty's team, Ryder Cup, but if I am not on the team, it's because someone is in better condition than me. I will try to do my best every week to be part of that team and defend Europe. Q. The will to win a tournament so quickly in the new year and with the WGCs coming up, how good is that for your confidence to win so early in the season? MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: There is a way to build confidence, you know, and I have been working physical. And I start, I have been a month off the golf this winter, get the clubs and I start practising and working on it, and that proves that you are doing the right thing. And that's very important to get confidence. I still do the same thing. You know this week at home I will be practising a little bit, still working physical, and, as well, that's the target every day. Q. You said yesterday, you took a complete break over the winter and went skiing. Was it up, is that the Sierra Nevada? MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: Sierra Nevada, yeah. Q. You took one month and came back working when? MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: Just the week before of Abu Dhabi, I start get my clubs and having some contest, and first thing when I get the clubs, I look at my hands, what is this I have my hands (indicating dust) from a month without hitting. You need to rest. You need to refresh your mind. You need just to do something different. Q. It was very tight all day out there today, and there were chances for some people to go, you left a putt short on No. 4; when did you actually feel that this is coming, was it 17? MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: 17 is the feeling is it's coming. But there were several putts, like hole 8, saved par there, and the rest is almost going up and down, go forward, but the putt on 8 is important. You know, after I miss the fairway, I miss the green on the left, I make approach, and I hole a putt like a four metres putt for par, and that is important, no. Q. First playoff hole, when the ball was in the air coming towards the green, and it landed on the little mound, did you think that was going to come back and go into the water? MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: I thought it's going to come into the water, yeah, but it's soft there and it plugged and lost the speed and stayed there. I got the wedge in my hand and then just hit a little punch, but the moment I hit it, it's just the ball ballooned, and it lost ten metres in the air. It's only 106 metres to the hole to carry all the distance to the flag, but I hit just a little bit under the ball and the ball climbs. I surprised myself when the ball climbed up that way. I don't deserve to go in the water (laughing). Q. Every player wants to win every week, but how much did the two runner-up finishes just play on your mind; did it give you more determination? MIGUEL ANGEL JIMÉNEZ: The determination when you come here, sometimes -- it's more than two times I've had chances to win here. But you really want to win this tournament, you know. Coming here, I like it here, I like the golf course, I feel good. MICHAEL GIBBONS: Miguel, many congratulations. End of FastScripts |
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