Flexibility keeping ‘golf’s most interesting man’ in PGA Tour Champions’ Charles Schwab Cup race

“I think he’s part alien … he’s got some alien DNA in there that just keeps him supple and moving well,” Notah Begay said.

Consider Miguel Angel Jimenez the de facto defending champion this week at the Constellation Furyk & Friends.

With last year’s winner Phil Mickelson on suspension after jumping to the LIV Golf Tour, Jimenez is the top finisher from the inaugural Furyk & Friends to return to the Timuquana Country Club. He was the runner-up to Mickelson, two shots behind the winning score of 15-under-par 201, but put the pressure on all weekend after a pedestrian 70 in the first round.

Jimenez played his final 47 holes bogey-free and his second-round 65 tied John Daly’s closing score for the low round of the tournament.

“It’s nice to be back here,” the 58-year-old native of Spain said during a news conference on Wednesday. “It’s a beautiful golf course … firm and fast, very nice.”

Jimenez is having another solid season, tying four other players for first with three victories. He enters the week fifth in the Charles Schwab Cup race and has earned $1,896,413, with 12 top-10s in 18 starts. He’s been outside the top 20 only three times and now has 13 PGA Tour Champions titles, and 39 worldwide.

Jimenez was in the hunt in three of the Champions Tour majors, with a tie for third at the Regions Tradition, a tie for fourth at the KitchenAid Senior PGA and a tie for seventh at the U.S. Senior Open.

Jimenez loves Timuquana’s challenges

Jimenez likes to keep life interesting, to say the least, and the subtleties of the historic Donald Ross course make him eager to get to the first tee on Friday at 11:45 a.m., where he will play with Ernie Els and Stephen Ames.

“It’s not that long, but you need to put the ball always in position,” he said of Timuquana. “This bermudagrass you have all over the golf course … you need to be in the fairway. If you miss the fairway [it’s] going to [be] almost impossible to stop the ball on these greens. You need to be very precise with all your clubs.”

Jimenez said the Champions Tour doesn’t get many challenges like Timuquana.

“It’s quite different because every week we play [soft] greens that are different kind of grass that you can hold better,” he said. “The way the golf course is set up, you need to be nice and sharp and precise. A little bit different with the other golf courses.”

Miguel Angel Jimenez
Miguel Angel Jimenez signs an autograph after hitting on the driving range prior to the opening ceremonies at the Ryder Cup at the Valhalla Golf Club in 2008. (Photo: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports)

Working hard to stay relevant

The affable, carefree Jimenez, with his distinctive long, curly hair and quick wit, has been called “Golf’s most interesting man.” He has an affinity for fast cars, fine wine, cigars and a good steak but he’s a grinder on the golf course, rivaling the seemingly ageless Bernhard Langer for staying in shape and collecting trophies the older he gets.

Fans enjoy his exotic pre-round stretching almost as much as his booming drives and deft short game.

“I [get] more exercise in the last 15 years than ever,” he said. “It’s very important to work out … flexibility is very important. The older we get, the more we need to working, especially flexibility. That helps a lot to maintain myself, my status.”

However, Jimenez, who has a self-deprecating streak to him, refuses to put himself in the same class at the 65-year-old Langer, who is two victories short of Hale Irwin’s all-time Champions Tour record of 45.

“I’m nothing special,” he said with a smile. “Bernard’s the same the last 45, the last 50 years. He’s never changed; he looks the same. It’s just a number, age.”

‘He’s part alien’

Notah Begay III said Jimenez is being a bit modest.

“I think he’s part alien … he’s got some alien DNA in there that just keeps him supple and moving well,” Begay said. “The fluidity in his swing hasn’t changed in decades. You have to give him and Bernhard a tremendous amount of credit for staying relevant, staying competitive. Professional sports is very quick to push out any athlete that isn’t up to standard and those guys have really proven themselves to have some secret recipe. Maybe they both know where the Fountain of Youth is.”

Padraig Harrington said Jimenez is still smashing the ball at his pre-50-year-old level.

“Of all the [Champions Tour] players out here, I think he’s the one who hits it as hard as he did eight years ago,” Harrington said. “He’s 165 [mph] ball speed, which is pretty long and he’s pushing himself.”

Jimenez said his drive to keep playing at a high level stems more from the inner passion he feels for golf just as much as his physical conditioning and work ethic.

“I love the game of golf and I work on my game on the range and still spend a lot of time there,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s the same amount as before, but I spend a lot of time on the driving range and working, practice putting. This is my life; this is what I want to do.”

He said he’s ready for a stretch run on the Champions Tour. There are two regular-season events before the three-tournament Schwab Cup Playoffs.

“I feel good … I’ve been hitting good all year round, playing very well, many top-10s,” he said. “Five more tournaments to finish the season and I’m going to do my best on all these to finish up.”

Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @GSmitter

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Phil Mickelson wins again on PGA Tour Champions, this time at the Furyk and Friends in Jacksonville

Phil Mickelson is now 3-for-4 on the PGA Tour Champions after holding off Miguel Angel Jimenez in Jacksonville.

Phil Mickelson is now 3-for-4 on the PGA Tour Champions after holding off Miguel Ángel Jiménez Sunday to claim the Constellation Furyk & Friends at the Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville.

Mickelson, the first reigning major champion to ever play in a Champions event, shot a final-round 68 to finish at 15 under. His scorecard featured three straight birdies to start his day. He had a double bogey on the sixth hole before recording birdies on Nos. 12 and 15.

Leading by one, Mickelson sank a clutch three-footer for par on 17 to keep his one-shot lead. On 18, he hit his drive 301 yards right down the middle. After he hit his approach, fans filled the fairway behind him as he walked to the green.

Jimenez faced a long putt for birdie to tie, but burned the edge and settled for par for a final-round 68 and a solo second-place finish. He now has five consecutive top-10s.

After Steve Flesch made a birdie to secure a solo third-place finish, Lefty then clinched a two-shot win by curling in a birdie putt.

“It was a hard-fought battle and I really enjoyed it. I enjoy playing out here,” Mickelson told Golf Channel after his win. He also had a lot of praise for his friend and tournament host Jim Furyk, who finished tied for fourth at 9 under with Ernie Els and Cameron Beckman.

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Phil Mickelson goes on back-nine tear for two-shot lead in Furyk and Friends, thinks he can do better

Phil Mickelson, at 11-under-par through two rounds, thinks he’s got a lot more in the tank.

Here’s something scary: Phil Mickelson, at 11-under-par 133 through two rounds of the PGA Tour Champions Constellation Furyk & Friends, thinks he’s got a lot more in the tank than his two opening rounds of 66 on Friday and 67 on Saturday at the Timuquana Country Club.

“I felt like I played well, the scores were fine, but I feel like I have a really low one in me,” Mickelson said, looking ahead to Sunday’s final round. “I want to go try to shoot that number.”

Mickelson took off after a pedestrian front nine and played the first six holes of the back at 5-under, with a 12-foot eagle putt at the 13th hole. He surged past three players tied at 9-under, Miguel Angel Jimenez (65, the day’s low round), Steve Flesch (66, with a closing bogey after four birdies in a six-hole span) and playing partner Matt Gogel (69).

More: Welcome home: David Duval returns to his golf roots to play in Furyk & Friends charity event

Tied at 8-under is Ernie Els (who turned in a blazing finish for a 67), David Toms (68) and Woody Austin (67). A group of six players at 6-under are led by U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker (67), tournament host Jim Furyk (69) and Mike Weir (69).

At one point when the final group was on the front nine, there was a four-way tie for first among Mickelson, Gogel, Weir and Darren Clarke, and 19 other players were within three shots of the lead.

But as a hot afternoon wore on, the leaders gave themselves more of a cushion and 13 players are within five shots of Mickelson, who had only one birdie on the front.

“I felt like I was hitting some good shots on the front nine, but they weren’t quite going the right distance or just weren’t quite working out,” he said. “Then the back … I went on a nice little tear. And I thought, ‘I’m having a lot of fun.’”

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Mickelson set up his eagle putt with a 7-iron from 195 yards out, then dropped a 30-foot birdie putt at the par-4 14th and scrambled out of the pine straw and trees at the par-5 15th to stitch together his final birdie of the day.

Mickelson nearly drove out-of-bounds at No. 16, found the ball to his relief, but had to pitch out and missed a 15-foot putt for par. He then two-putted the final two holes.

Fans line the area around the ninth green of the Timuquana Country Club on Saturday during the second round of the Constellation Furyk & Friends.
Mickelson said he’s left some shots on the course, but usually feels that way regardless of how low he goes.

“I’m sure we all do,” he said. “I had a bunch of good looks today, but I get a chance to come out here and play tomorrow. And I’m really enjoying the golf course, so it’s a fun opportunity to try to go low again and try to shoot the number that I feel I’m capable of.”

The two players who came from behind to catch Gogel at 9-under approach their scores in different ways — and both are on serious rolls in recent Champions Tour events.

Jimenez, the affable, cigar-smoking pro from Spain, was relentless with his iron shots to set up a series of short birdie putts on the back, four within a five-hole span.

“You can see [that he’s hitting his irons well] … hit it to 4 or 5 feet from the hole is very good, no?” Jimenez said. “It’s nice … nice course. You need to be very sharp with your irons.”

Jimenez has finished among the top-10 in his last four starts and on Saturday he posted a score in the 60s for the eighth time in his last nine rounds.

He will be gunning for his third PGA Tour Champions title this season, and the 11th of his career.

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Flesch, on the other hand, did his hard work on the tricky Timuquana greens.

He drained three putts of 15 feet or longer on the back nine and said going to an “armlock” method of putting has helped in recent events, in which he’s finished 13th or higher six times in seven starts, with four top-10s.

“The ball just gets on line better for me doing it,” he said. “The shorter ones tend to be easier because the ball’s on line, right off the bat. So I’m thrilled with it.”

Worth watching will be Els, the four-time major champion who was 1-over at the turn. He birdied the 10th hole to kick-start a back-nine 30 that included an eagle at No. 15 and three more birdies.

Mickelson wasn’t discounting anyone’s chances.

“They’re playing some good golf, so I have to keep doing the same thing,” he said. “Playing aggressive, driving the ball in play, hit some good iron shots and give myself some putts and hopefully make some.”

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U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker brings hardware to PGA Tour Champions event

Steve Stricker brought a couple friends to Florida this week — and they’re shiny.

The Timuquana Country Club had a special guest star on Thursday.

It was less than 18 inches tall and weighed four pounds. Steve Stricker walked into the clubhouse caressing it as if were a newborn and carefully placed it on a table overlooking the club’s back lawn.

Welcome to Duval, Ryder Cup trophy. It’s the most sought-after bauble in golf, short of one signifying a major championship, and it returned to the U.S. after Stricker captained his team to 19-9 victory over Europe two weeks ago at Whistling Straits, in his home state of Wisconsin.

The Ryder Cup had a wingman during Stricker’s news conference, the Presidents Cup, the other biennial match-play event between the U.S. and an international team. Stricker became only the third man to captain winning U.S. teams in both competitions, joining Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.

“Still just walking in here with it today, you know, the excitement from the people,” said Stricker, who will play the first round of the Constellation Furyk & Friends on Friday with two of his vice-captains, Davis Love III (who led the U.S. to the Ryder Cup in 2016), and Fred Couples. “Still get quite a few texts, people still reaching out. We’ve talked about it as a family, how surreal it’s been. The whole Ryder Cup seemed like a blur, it happened so fast. The results, you know, as we know what they were, and then after that we’re watching our daughter play and make it to the state tournament. It’s like back to reality and our normal living.”

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Except having the Ryder Cup in your house isn’t exactly normal. And it can inspire at the oddest moments, such as Wednesday, when Stricker walked into his kitchen and saw that his daughter had taken the Ryder Cup, put it on the table in front of her laptop, and proceeded to begin doing her homework.

“Stuff like that is pretty weird, but it’s pretty cool to be a part of it all,” Stricker said.

The Ryder Cup also accompanied U.S. team member Harris English to the set of ESPN’s “GameDay,” last Saturday, where he was the guest predictor.

Having the Presidents Cup side-by-side with the Ryder Cup begged a question: did leading the U.S. to victory in 2017 at Liberty National help prepare Stricker to be the Ryder Cup captain.

“That meant a lot,” he said of the U.S. 19-11 victory that week. “It was a big learning deal for me just to feel like you have control of the team. I’m not that kind of an outgoing personality to tell these guys what to do and all that kind of stuff.

“So I learned a lot, but I learned a lot also from not only the playing part, but being a part of all those assistants’ years, being under Tom Watson, Jay Haas and, you know, Davis [Love], just all those guys that I was a part of, I learned a lot.”

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Fred Couples says he’d like to serve as Ryder Cup captain, but he may be too late

“Would I like to be Ryder Cup captain? Of course.”

Fred Couples has been the winning captain for three U.S. Presidents Cup teams and has been a Ryder Cup vice-captain twice, including two weeks ago at Whistling Straits where the U.S. routed Europe 19-9.

So when will Couples get his chance to captain the Ryder Cup?

Perhaps never, he said on Wednesday.

“Now I’m a little old for the system,” the two-time Players champion said after warming up for the Wednesday pro-am in the PGA Tour Champions Furyk & Friends. “I mean, would I like to be Ryder Cup captain? Of course, but that’s probably not going to happen.”

The Ryder Cup is run by the PGA of America and the Presidents Cup by the PGA Tour.

Speculation is that the 61-year-old Couples might have a chance in 2023 in Rome because of his Italian ancestry. His paternal grandparents came to the U.S. from Italy and changed their name from Coppola to Couples.

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Couples said his main strength as a Presidents Cup captain and assistant Ryder Cup captain is sensing a player’s mood and state of his game just by having a conversation.

“I can just see in their eye something’s going on,” he said. “And it’s easy. Golf is kind of secondary for me. I was a good player and I knew my game, but I can feel out other people’s games pretty easily, I just have a knack for saying ‘what’s going on?’ and I enjoy that.”

Couples had one reason for the U.S. team’s victory this year.

“I’ve never seen people not nervous in my life,” he said of the demeanor shown by a young American team. “There was something going, I don’t quite get it. They’re all better players than probably I’ve ever been, but there was just — there wasn’t much nerves.”

Couples was in charge of a “pod” with Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay. That foursome combined to go 14-1-2.

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How is Phil Mickelson the first reigning major winner to play PGA Tour Champions? ‘It’s just math.’

Mickelson has played Timuquana once in the past, a round set up by long-time friend and attorney Glenn Cohen which included Tim Tebow.

Phil Mickelson will make some more history this week when he tees it up in the PGA Tour Champion’s Constellation Furyk & Friends.

The six-time major champion and World Golf Hall of Fame member will become the first reigning major winner to play in a PGA Tour Champions event.

But Mickelson said this was by default after winning the PGA Championship last May at Kiawah Island.

“It’s just math,” Mickelson said on Wednesday after playing in the first of two tournament pro-ams at the Timuquana Country Club. “Nobody in their 50s has won a major [before him].”

Since Julius Boros had been the oldest player to win a major before Mickelson, at 48 — and since Champions Tour eligibility starts at 50 — Mickelson’s point was that he didn’t have to do anything, except show up.

But he’s here, heading an all-star field of past PGA Tour and international stars who came running largely because of two factors: the historic Donald Ross course and the respect they have for tournament host Jim Furyk and his wife Tabitha, whose foundation is running the tournament.

“Basically because of Jim Furyk, because what a quality guy he is,” Mickelson said. “He and Tabitha had done an amazing job of getting a new tournament and making it unique and making it special. It’s fun for me to be a part of it and support them.”

Mickelson is playing on the Champions Tour for the first time since February and for the fourth time overall. He played twice last year, winning both, to get his Champions Tour phase off to a running start.

The fact that he won a major this year in the best indication as to why Mickelson is only playing his first Champions event of the calendar year: he’s still competitive on the PGA Tour. Mickelson finished 70th on the FedEx Cup points list last season, is currently 64th on the world golf rankings and is coming off a tie for 36th in the Fortinet Championship two weeks ago.

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Mickelson has played Timuquana once in the past, a round set up by long-time friend and attorney Glenn Cohen which included Tim Tebow. Mickelson loves the history and the challenges offered by the course.

“I love Donald Ross courses,” he said. “I think they’re terrific and this one’s no different. They’ve done a good job, this club has, of keeping it in great shape and showcasing his talents as a designer.”

While players often use the putter on the closely-mown areas around the greens, Mickelson said it’s not shaved enough that good players can’t get a wedge under the ball — which expands his versatility around the greens.

“There’s slight roll-offs on all sides, a little bit like Pinehurst but not as severe,” he said. “There’s very soft movements, so if you hit good shots and you get on the green, you have great looks at birdie. I thought the fringe area, like the chipping area maybe 30-yards short of the green and all around the green was some of the best I’ve ever seen. It allows you to get a wedge underneath the ball and actually hit decent chips and have options when you want to chip it or putt it.”

Mickelson said it’s a subtle difference between Timuquana and other course set-ups.

“Nowadays, I don’t know why, we’ve been making it so tight around the green that you simply can’t get a wedge underneath it,” he said. “This is different. You’ll see a lot of nice little pitches around the green, and the grass around it is incredible.”

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Jim Furyk nervous, but excited, to host Furyk and Friends for the first time as a full Champions event

“Monday morning was like maybe a feel of a major championship.”

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – When Jim Furyk was a young pup on the PGA Tour, he marveled at the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino and Chi Chi Rodriguez starring on the senior circuit. But he never envisioned that some day he’d be playing on PGA Tour Champions.

“As I got to 35, as I got to 40 and people would say, ‘Are you going to play the Champions Tour?’ Most of my peers would be like, ‘I don’t know, like I don’t know.’ Then as we got to 45, you go, ‘Well, you know, maybe.’ And then we got to like our late 40s, and we’re like, ‘Hey, who are we kidding? What the hell else are we going to do?’ That’s what we know how to do, that’s what we love to do, but there was always that, like at 42, ‘Hmm, I don’t know,’ ” Furyk said.

The 51-year-old has made a seamless transition to 50-and-older golf, winning in his first two starts and vying for both Rookie of the Year and the Charles Schwab Cup, the season-long competition. He hasn’t played a PGA Tour event since May, and noted that he may play a couple of old favorites over the next few years, but “95 percent of his golf will be on the Champions Tour.”

Jim Furyk celebrates with the trophy after winning the final round of the PURE Insurance Championship at the Pebble Beach Golf Links on September 20, 2020 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Furyk may have gotten off to a quick start in finding the winner’s circle, but he said it’s no cake walk. These guys are still good, and they still work at their game.

“There’s this idea that we’re all sitting around in the locker room and we’re having a beer and a glass of wine,” Furyk said. “I went to my first event in Flint and the range was packed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I mean packed. Putting green, it was hard to get a spot or a hole to putt at. The chipping green, they’ve got those three little chipping greens at Warwick Hills and it was hard to find a spot to go.”

“We’re blessed, and the guys understand it,” Furyk added. “They understand that it’s a second lease on life and I’m not sure there’s any other sport, maybe bowling, we have some professional bowlers over 50 that can still compete.”

“I’ve kind of fallen in love with the tour,” Furyk said. “I didn’t know if I’d like the three-round events; it’s a little bit of a track meet. You better get out there quick and make some birdies. You have to put the pedal down. I’m getting aggressive, I’m making more birdies. Golf is more fun that way.

“I’ve enjoyed getting in the fire a little bit more and winning a few events and had some heartbreaking losses as well. Every competitor wants to wake up on Sunday with a chance and I’ve had more opportunities on the Champions Tour and really enjoyed them. Guys are just as nervous and you get that throw up on your shoes on 18.”

This week Furyk may have a queasy stomach for a different reason. His name is on the tournament marquee for the first time – the Constellation Furyk & Friends – is being played at Timuquana Country Club.

“Monday morning was like maybe a feel of a major championship where I was just so excited to get things going, but also felt nervous, right?” Furyk said.

For a decade, Furyk & Friends existed as a one-day pro-am ahead of the Players Championship, raising about $500,000 each year for charity. Darius Rucker played at the inaugural tournament party.

“We had a nice niche and we were raising some good money, but we also didn’t have a formula for growth,” Furyk said.

As he neared his 50th birthday, he started seeing friends Davis Love III (RSM Classic) and Steve Stricker (American Family Insurance Open) host tournaments in their local community. When the Korn Ferry Finals moved from Atlantic Beach, Florida to Indiana, Furyk recognized an opportunity to create a tournament that would highlight downtown Jacksonville and the St. Johns River.

With the buy-in from PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, Furyk landed his long-time sponsor Constellation Energy to underwrite the title and Circle K as a presenting sponsor. (There’s a Slushie machine in the locker room this week.)

“At the time I hadn’t played a Champions Tour event yet. We’re trying to build an event on a tour that I never played an event on,” Furyk said. “It’s been over three years in the making, so it felt like this day or this week would never get here, and then the last few months have kind of flown by.”

WGC - Dell Technologies Match Play
Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson on the first hole during the second round of the WGC – Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club. (Photo: Stephen Spillman-USA TODAY Sports)

Turns out Furyk has a lot of friends. The field boasts the likes of Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples, winning U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker and losing European captain Padraig Harrington, who is making his senior tour debut. Furyk, who said he didn’t need to twist any arms to get commitments, relayed a funny story of his recruitment of Stricker. Furyk was paired with the tournament host in Wisconsin and Fred Couples in the first round.

“Freddie hopped up on the first tee and said, ‘Man, I love that you two have an event. Strick, happy to be here. Jimmy, I can’t wait to come to your event.’ Then he looked at Strick and went, ‘You’re going, right?’ It was awesome. I couldn’t have said it better. I said to Strick, ‘Hunting season isn’t until Thanksgiving in Wisconsin, I checked.’ He laughed and said he’ll be here.”

Rucker was there on Tuesday night to bring everything full circle as the talent at the pro-am party along with Scotty McCreery, a former American Idol winner, and even John Daly took to the stage to sing “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”

“We used to throw a concert for 400 people for our sponsors, now it’s a venue that holds 5,000 people, it’s amazing,” Furyk said. “I kind of pinch myself.”

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