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 The pony-tailed Spaniard has already defied Father Time by
extending his record as the oldest winner of a European Tour event
and now, just days past his 50th birthday, says he wants to be the
oldest competitor at the Ryder Cup too.
"If I play well, I believe I will be on the team," he told reporters
on Wednesday ahead of Thursday's start of the Volvo Golf Champions
tournament at the Durban Country Club, which marks the first event
of the new year on the European Tour.
It is an event for which Jimenez qualified by successfully defending
his Hong Kong Open title in December, extending his own record as
the oldest winner in Tour history.
"It would mean a lot, a lot to me. I'm still breaking records. It
would be nice. I broke my own record of being the oldest winner, so
it would be nice to get another record," he added.
The oldest Ryder Cup competitor for Europe was Ted Ray, who was 50
years, two months and five days old at the inaugural contest in
1927.
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Jimenez last played in the 2010 event, his fourth for the
European team, and served as vice captain at the last Ryder Cup
at Medinah in the U.S. where Europe's miraculous
come-from-behind win was their fifth in the last six contests.
This year's competition is at Gleneagles in Scotland in
September.
"I'm going to keep working hard on my game because I would like
to be there with the clubs in the hands. If you are not playing
well, you don't want to be on the team. It's a lot of
responsibility. It means a lot to me and many players and you
need to know that you are in good shape."
Jimenez's playoff victory in Hong Kong last month was his 20th
European Tour win — 13 of them coming since he turned 40. His
record as oldest winner now stands at 49 years and 337 days.
"When I look in the mirror I see the same guy," he said. "He
hasn't changed."
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; editing by Tony Goodson;
mark.gleeson@thomsonreuters.com)
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