Miguel Angel Jiménez, born and bred in Malaga and still a resident in the area, will feel at home when he defends his Turespaña Masters - Open Andalucía title at Parador Malaga del Golf this week.
The 35-year-old Spaniard captured his third European Tour title in the event last year when it was staged at Santa Ponsa I in Mallorca. However this time, Jiménez can commute the short distance from his house in Benalmadena to the Parador course which is being used for only the second time.
"This will be a fantastic experience," said Jiménez. "I live just 10 minutes from the golf course and I can’t wait to defend my title so close to home. My family will be able to come and watch me and it will be nice playing in front of so many local people who are sure to be supporting me."
Jiménez won the battle of the Miguel Angels last May when he just edged out his namesake, Martin, by two strokes at Santa Ponsa with a nine under par total of 279.
That victory sparked a superb year for the 1997 European Ryder Cup vice-captain. It took Jiménez almost four years to add a third title to his second, which he had won in July 1994. But he only had to wait a matter of months before he collected a fourth in the Trophée Lancôme.
By the season’s conclusion, Jiménez had accrued more than half a million pounds in official earnings and finished a meritorious fourth behind the ‘big three’ of Colin Montgomerie, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood in the Volvo Order of Merit.
In fact Clarke, second in last year's Volvo Order of Merit, will also play after an indifferent start to his 1999 campaign. He missed the cut in Malaysia but played all four rounds in Dubai before losing in the first round of the Andersen Consulting Match Play to eventual runner-up Andrew Magee.
Before winning in Mallorca, Jiménez had been ranked No.151 in the world. However, those two victories coupled with some excellent high finishes ensured that Jiménez moved into the top 64 and earned a deserved place in the Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship at La Costa Resort and Spa.
Although he lost to 1997 Open champion Justin Leonard in the first round, Jiménez was thrilled to be part of the inaugural World Golf Championships event.
"I was very happy with 1998" he said. "It was a magic win in Mallorca - a special week. I had not won since July 1994 and it felt like a long time between wins. It was one of those weeks when I was never confident of victory until after the 71st hole.
Jiménez delivered the most exquisite shot of the 1998 season when he landed the Trophée Lancôme. His chip-in for a birdie at the 72nd hole earned the quiet Spaniard the Canon Shot of the Year award.
"The victory in the Trophée Lancôme was possibly more spectacular, when I chipped in" he added. "I was only trying to get the ball as close as possible to be sure of my par. It was a great feeling when the ball went in because it was the first time my wife, Monserrat, was at the course to see me win."
Miguel Angel Martin will be back in the field this week to challenge Jiménez and a host of Spanish players, including Seve Ballesteros, José Maria Olazábal and the father-and-son combination of Antonio and Ignacio Garrido.
Olazábal makes his competitive return after reaching the quarter-finals of the Andersen Consulting Match Play at La Costa. The 1994 Masters champion was troubled by erratic driving in California, but nevertheless produced some brilliant performances to get into the last eight.
Olazábal, who won a Spanish Amateur Championship over the Parador course, said of his performance at La Costa: "I didn’t get any consistency off the tee until my quarter-final match against John Huston. I hit the ball that day better than at any time during the week and I wish I can keep that consistency.
"That is the most positive thing I took from the week. Now I just need to put it all together. I will play in Malaga then the TPC before returning to Augusta National for the Masters. I hope I can get the same feeling with my driver in these events."
Another Spaniard who will surely fancy his chances is Francisco Cea, who grew up in the only house within the grounds of the Parador course and, in fact, still lives there. His father formerly worked as greenkeeper there and is still employed at the club.
Qualifying School graduate Carlos Rodiles and Tomas Munoz also live nearby while José Rivero adds to the local flavour as an occasional visitor to his summer house close to the Jiménez family in Benalmadena.
The Tom Simpson-designed course, located between Torremolinos and Malaga just a short hop from Malaga International Airport, has been in existence for almost 75 years.
It was constructed from links terrain and pine forest in 1925 and last staged a European Tour tournament in 1992 when Fijian Vijay Singh captured the Turespaña Masters - Open de Andalucía by two strokes from Gary Evans, then a promising rookie professional.
Evans, in fact, holds the record for the 6742-yard course with a seven-under-par round of 65 which he shot in finishing runner-up to Singh in 1992.
Unfortunately, the proximity to the airport resulted in many of the trees dying off, prompting a recent re-planting programme. However the Parador lay-out is now in excellent condition to stage its first European Tour event since the Singh-Evans duel seven years ago.
