Miguel Angel

Jimenez

The Spaniard is no stranger to this Alpine course, winning in 2010, and claiming ten top ten finishes since 1996. But in the last four years he has failed to make a top 20 and twice not even made the weekend. When opening his second lap with a pair of bogeys at the first and second it may have appeared that a third missed cut in recent times was on the cards, but it was anything but. He ticked the fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth before the turn and then laughed in the face of another dropped shot at the tenth with par breakers at the 11th, 12th, 16th and 18th. Even another bogey at the 17th failed to dampen his spirit. He missed the cut in the British Senior Open but arrived here off two top tens on the Champions Tour.

Those wins along with T7 last year suggested the veteran could still be a force on this week’s 6,700-yard track. However, the 54-year-old Spaniard fell short and he’s now missed the cut on his last three European Tour starts. Before we write him off though, he did score back-to-back top 15s at this level as recently as June. Others to miss the Hong Kong cut: 142- Gonzalo Fernandez Castano ... 143- Paul Peterson, Victor Dubuisson, Marcus Fraser ... 144- Andrew Johnston, Matthew Southgate.

The Spaniard hit only eight greens in regulation today but limited the inconsistency to three bogeys which he offset with three birdies. He was the third to sign his card just two strokes back of the clubhouse co-leaders.

The Spaniard can be unpredictable at times but has a knack for showing up in big events. Case in point, he slayed fellow countryman Sergio Garcia at the Match Play before cooling off the sizzling Keegan Bradley. To be sure, he won’t let much get under his skin this week.

The Spaniard parred the first three holes before MAJ took the fourth with a bogey-5. He chased it with a birdie-3 at the fifth and maintained control of the lead throughout. A pedestrian two-putt par at the par-4 17th was good for a win at the hole and a victory in the match. The 48-year-old advances to play Keegan Bradley in the second round.

In what was the final match to end today, the Spaniard started par-birdie-birdie to claim the first three holes. He never relinquished the lead despite Bradley reducing it to 1 up twice. MAJ held that advantage as they arrived at the par-4 17th hole. He’d win it with a par to end Bradley’s run. Jimenez will face Rory McIlroy in what should be one of the most enjoyable matches of Friday’s third round.

Jimenez hit only 12 greens today but he suffered just one bogey while circling birdies on four holes. Only one of those birdies disappeared on a par 5 (the second hole).

His best finish came in 2000, when he tied for second behind Tiger Woods, who won in historic fashion. While it’s been a rough year for the Spaniard, he did manage a trip to the third round of the Accenture Match Play. He missed the cut in last year’s U.S. Open.

One of the remaining exemptions into the field of 156 at Kiawah Island reserves a tee time for each member of both Ryder Cup teams from 2010 as along as he sits inside the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking through the conclusion of play on July 29. Jimenez is 70th on the latest OWGR to qualify for his 14th PGA. Francesco Molinari (23rd) and Ian Poulter (29th) will join the Spaniard in the season’s final major. Three Ryder Cuppers failed to qualify: Jeff Overton (103rd), Ross Fisher (122nd) and Edoardo Molinari (164th). While Overton was bumped, he stands an excellent chance of sneaking in since he finished 72nd on the special money list that ended at the RBC Canadian Open. The top 70 earned exemptions, but the alternates are plucked from those ranked 71st and lower in descending order. Neither Edoardo Molinari nor Fisher qualified for this week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and they aren’t scheduled to compete in Reno, so both failed to qualify for the PGA.

Jimenez is 1-over-par for his round. A storm cell rolled through The Ocean Course and play was halted at 4:50 p.m. ET. After the third round is in the books, the plan is for the final round to begin at 11:44 a.m. off both tees in groups of three, with the final group teeing off at 1:45 p.m. The weather forecast for Sunday appears to be much better than it has been the past two days, so further delays are not expected.