Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)
AS they walked up towards the 11th green, they were unmistakably two of the greats of the game.
And one of them helped design the course, while the other gave the handful of lucky fans watching a true masterclass in how to escape a bunker.
This was the dream pairing of Colin Montgomerie with Miguel Angel Jimenez, who had been teamed up with one lucky amateur to do battle at the Staysure Legends tournament at Aloha, in Marbella.
Puffing on his trademark cigars throughout the entire course, Jimenez, was the local lad, born and bred up the road in Malaga.
But make no mistake he is one of the giants of the game, a two times Ryder cup winner, with 21 European Tour wins under his belt.
Alongside him, with his trademark girth and jollity, was Scotsman Montgomerie, long a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame with 31 European titles to his name, the most for any British player.
It was the opening day of the tournament, a Friday, under blissful blue skies and the pair were having fun, regularly swapping banter and even chatting to the fans, many who walked the course with them.
I finally caught up with them half way up the 11th and watched the pair approach the green, with Monty dropping his ball into a nasty narrow sand pit, some 15 metres from the pin.
“Looks nasty,” commented a member, who had strolled up just behind me.
But Monty (who famously clinched the Ryder Cup, spanking the yanks, on the final hole up the road in Valderrama in 1997) is made of sterner stuff.
After watching Jimenez chip on to within a metre of the pin he scooped his ball out and dropped it at least a foot closer.
Without a doubt, one of the best shots I’ve ever seen, he then scored a birdie, as did his Spanish opponent.
And so it continued for the rest of the round, with the pair both tussling to make the cut for the final day on the Sunday.
This time though it was not to be for the two genuine legends of the game, with a British pro Simon Griffiths taking the honours.
Griffiths, who has not had an easy ride as a pro, snared only his second professional victory, both coincidentally in Spain.
It was a dream come true for the Brit, who entered the final day with a two-stroke lead and somehow clung on against the string of Major winners and Ryder Cup Captains.
Most pundits had Jimenez or Monty as the likely winners, so Griffiths really had to keep his nerve.
Having never played on the Tour before and still working as a caddie at his club back in Blighty, he really had to dig in and concentrate, scoring five birdies, including one at the 18th in front of a packed Clubhouse La Sala stand.
It left him on a credible 68 and 17 under par, beating, leaving Jimenez in fourth and Monty just below him, while Scott Hend came second with 13 under.
“I am delighted, absolutely happy,” he told the crowd standing on the winners podium. “I started with a birdie, Monty started making birdies and I knew I had to hold on, I was looking at the leaders because I knew Hend was doing well but the birdie on the 15th gave me a lot of peace of mind. I don’t know what it is about Spain but it is clear that I am good at it, I feel good, I like it… it is very special for me.”
The player who made things the most difficult for himself was Scott Hend, who signed the best card of the tournament, with ten birdies on a 64 stroke round.
Jimenez, who helped to design some of the greens at Aloha, was quick to praise Griffith
“It was a very good week, the course was in magnificent condition, the public, the people, the tournament, it was very good.”
Ryan Howsam, President of Staysure and the Legends Tour, who also played, told the Olive Press: “It’s amazing to be playing here on such a beautiful course. I love coming to Marbella.”
Lisandro Vieytes, Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Sports of Marbella Town Hall presented the awards to the winners, accompanied by Rafael Fontán, President of Aloha Golf Club, Pablo Mansilla, President of the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation, Gonzaga Escauriaza, Honorary President of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, Miguel Ángel Guerrero, Golf Director of Turismo Costa del Sol and Javier Gervás, General Manager of JGolf.
The Staysure Marbella Legends is sponsored by Staysure, Marbella Town Hall and the Legends Tour, as well as Turismo Costa del Sol, Aloha Golf and the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation, and the collaboration of Titleist, Bodegas Juan Gil, Maximiliano Jabugo, Licor del Medit.
