Jiminez overcomes Masters setback for Portugal win

BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2004 Portugal Open | Wrap | 05 Apr 2004

Miguel Angel Jiminez overcame the disappointment of narrowly missing a start at the US Masters for the first time in five years, when he took out the Algarve Open de Portugal by two shots from Australian Terry Price.

Jiminez has played well at Augusta in the past including two top tens and in his current form which includes this win and his victory in the Johnnie Walker two months ago, he may well have fancied his chances. By being in 53rd place in the world rankings when the field was finalised last week however the Spaniard missed out and so he headed to Portugal for the perhaps consolation victory.

Jiminez recorded just three bogeys over the 72 holes but he had to birdie two of the last three hole to keep out a fast finishing Terry Price with Sweden’s Klas Eriksson and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell one further back.

For Jiminez this was his ninth win on the European Tour and he has now earned more than 7 million euros ($A11 million) during that career. He has been very much the quiet achiever of European golf.

Terry Price rallied back from a disappointing 74 in round three, which appeared to have cost him any chance of a high finish, with a final round 64 including an eagle at the par five last. For Price, this was his best finish on the European Tour and will surely represent his biggest cheque in professional golf. The 138,000 euros or $A220,000 would far exceed any of the wins he has had in Australasia in terms of prizemoney. Coming just two months after his 2004 New Zealand Open win, Price, at age 43, appears to be playing some of the best golf of his career.

The European Tour now heads to Spain for the Open de Sevilla, the week following the US Masters.