MUNICH, Germany -- European Ryder Cup member Miguel Angel Jimenez posted a 6-under 66 on Sunday to win the BMW International Open. Jimenez finished at 21-under-par 267 for his fourth victory of the season.
‘The only pressure I’ve got is the pressure of the tournament,’ said Jimenez. ‘Playing with three or four guys out there fighting for spots on the Ryder Cup, but apart from them, there are also lots of players that this is a very big field this week here. It’s always very nice for me to win this tournament with this field here.’
Thomas Levet could not keep up in the final round at Golfclub Munchen Nord- Eichenried and carded a 68 to take second place alone at 19-under-par 269. Paul Casey made his first Ryder Cup appearance official with a final-round 65 that lifted him to 16-under-par 272 along with Colin Montgomerie and Alex Cejka.
Montgomerie, who won the Caltex Masters this year, played valiantly this week and will be heading back to the Ryder Cup as one of Bernhard Langer’s captain’s picks.
England’s Luke Donald, a winner on both sides of the Atlantic, was the second captain’s pick and will be making his Ryder Cup debut. Donald shot a 69 on Sunday to finish at 12-under-par 276 alongside Peter Fowler.
‘I’ve played in a couple of Walker Cups, obviously it’s not the same, but I’ve felt that pressure before and done okay under it,’ said Donald.
Jimenez began the day tied for first with Levet, but birdied the first to break away from his playing partner. Jimenez found trouble with a bogey at the par-four third but recovered in style starting at the very next hole.
The Spaniard birdied the fourth and added birdies at the fifth and the sixth to reach 18-under. At the par-4 seventh, Jimenez dropped his approach within inches of the hole and tapped in for birdie to make it four in a row.
Jimenez struggled to a bogey at the eighth, but came back with a birdie at the following hole. He faltered with another bogey at the 10th, but was able to respond with a birdie at the 11th.
The 40-year-old hit his second shot to 18 feet and drained the putt for a birdie at the 13th. Jimenez then birdied the 14th to leave little in doubt and parred his way in for his 11th career victory on the European Tour.
‘I have been very relaxed all year,’ said Jimenez. ‘I’ve been playing very well and I feel very good on the golf course. When you are playing well, you know, you turn the right side of the coin and you win the tournament.’
Levet got off to a solid start with a pair of birdies over his first six holes and reached the green in two at the par-5 ninth. He two-putted for birdie to keep pace with Jimenez, but stumbled to a bogey at the 10th to drop back to minus-17.
The Frenchman countered with a birdie at the 11th and only managed a single birdie the rest of the way to finish two shots off the pace.
Montgomerie looked to be in position to take home the title after five straight birdies starting at the fifth lifted him to 17 under and a birdie at the 11th tied for the lead briefly with Jimenez.
The Scot bogeyed the 13th but got that shot back with a birdie at the 15th. He struggled on the way in, however, with back-to-back bogeys from the 16th but all in all put together a strong showing worthy of one of Langer’s captain’s picks.
Fredrik Jacobson was also bidding for a captain’s pick and seemed to be on his way to making the team outright with four birdies over his first seven holes. The Swede ran out of gas from that point on, however, with a pair of bogeys and a birdie en route to a round of 69.
Jacobson finished alongside Paul McGinley, who qualified for the European team, at 15-under-par 273. The duo was joined by U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, Darren Clarke and David Lynn in a tie for sixth.
‘It’s been a roller coaster ride the last six weeks,’ said McGinley, one of the heroes of the winning European team at the 2002 Ryder Cup. ‘I had the leash between my teeth like a dog, I didn’t want to let it go and fortunately I just held on to it long enough.’
John Daly fired a 65 on Sunday to move into a tie for 11th with Joakim Haeggman, Soren Kjeldsen, Tino Schuster and Andrew Raitt at 14-under-par 274.
Graeme McDowell matched the course record with a 62 in the final round. He finished in a group at 13-under-par 275 that included last year’s champion Lee Westwood.
David Howell qualified for the team outright after a round of 69 left him in a bunch at 11-under-par 277. Fellow Englishman Ian Poulter also made the squad after a strong finish erased some early disasters and left him at 10-under-par 278.
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