In this series, we've unearthed images from the RFEG's photographic archive, each one telling a beautiful golf story. The story of our golf. They are OUR CHAMPIONS.

📆 October 1, 2006

⛳ Logroño Golf Course

▶What a Friday that was at the Logroño Golf Course! Picture this. The second day of the 2006 Spanish Men's Professional Championship. There were established players like the protagonist of this story, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, or Ignacio Garrido and Carlos Rodiles, and young players starting their professional careers like Pablo Larrazábal.

▶Miguel Ángel Jiménez flew across the perfectly manicured Rioja course, guided by almost unparalleled inspiration. He delivered a golf clinic, culminating in a score of 60 strokes, twelve under par, or in other words, just one stroke more than the world record. Nevertheless, it became the best result ever achieved in Spain in official competition up to that point.

▶This sensational record, together with the fact that the Rioja course contains the longest hole in Spain, the 4th, measuring 618 meters from the white tees, is part of the aura of a special tournament for all Spanish professionals and which began to be played in 1942.

The man from Malaga started his round with a birdie on the first hole, another birdie on the second, and an eagle on the third. With two more birdies on holes 5 and 8, he finished the front nine at 6 under par, a prelude to an equally impressive back nine. Another birdie on the 10th; another birdie on the 12th – this time with another prodigious putt from 10 meters; another under par on the 13th; another birdie on the 15th; yet another on the 17th – this time a par 3 played in two shots where the ball, on tee, touched the flagstick and came within inches of the pin – and, to cap off the celebration, the final birdie on the 18th after a brilliant second bunker shot, made up a round to remember that generated a huge explosion of jubilation among the fans present.
▶That Spanish Professional Championship concluded with the triumph, of course, of Miguel Ángel Jiménez, who reaped his fourth success in the tournament after those obtained in 1999, 2002 and 2003. Six strokes separated him from Carlos Rodiles, who could only applaud the feat of a golfer who is a legend for episodes like this.