Miguel Angel Jimenez put together a late charge on the final two holes and then in a playoff to win the 2025 Kaulig Companies Championship, leaving a plume of cigar smoke and several clutch birdies in his wake en route to being the last man standing on Firestone South’s 18th green.
Jimenez, a cigar-smoking star on the PGA Champions Tour and one of the most entertaining players to watch over the last few decades at any level, birdied the tournament’s 71st and 72nd holes — the 17th and 18th of the final round — to force a playoff with Steven Alker, who on the 17th tee held a two-stroke lead and seemingly a tight grip on the tournament.
Jimenez and Alker, each at 10 under for the tournament, needed two sudden-death playoff holes to settle the Kaulig Companies Championship, both played on the 18th hole. On the second playoff hole, Alker somehow navigated his second shot through some trees and onto the green from a difficult angle, forcing Jimenez to stick his own approach shot on the green and sink the putt to end the tournament.
Jimenez, 61, hit the 18th green in regulation for the third consecutive time and drained the final putt before lifting his putter in the air and sheathing it as if it were a sword, his signature celebration.
“We had a battle,” Jimenez said. “And then we kept fighting, kept fighting there.
“It’s very special. … This week I win here and put my name beside all the great names in the history of the golf tournament here on this beautiful golf course, probably one of the better golf courses we’ll play all year. No words to explain — fantastic.”
Jimenez took home $525,000 for the victory, his first at Firestone.
Miguel Angel Jimenez beats Steven Alker in 2025 Kaulig Companies Championship playoff
Alker watched his two-stroke lead evaporate on the final two holes of regulation, but he then twice scrambled during each of the sudden-death playoff holes to nearly extend the tournament.
On the first playoff, in which both players replayed 18, Alker’s second shot hit a tree and fell in the fairway short of the green. Jimenez responded by sticking his approach onto the green, suddenly applying pressure.
Alker hit a beautiful chip that rode the curvature of the green down to the back shelf, where the pin was located, and even came close to going in for a birdie. Both settled for par, leading to a third playing of No. 18 on the final day.
“Miguel, the way he finished, he just did Miguel things,” Alker said. “I think Firestone got me. I think I had two bogeys every day. Just can’t do that around here.”
Alker’s tee shot was sent wayward, leaving him in a precarious position within the trees down the right side of the fairway. It appeared as though he would have to simply chip it back onto the fairway.
Instead, Alker hit one of the best scrambling shots on any golf course, not only navigating the trees but running the ball up and onto the green, and even onto the back shelf, putting him in a position to birdie the hole.
Jimenez, for the third consecutive time, planted his second shot onto the green. In the end, Alker missed his putt, Jimenez made his, and “The Mechanic” won a back-and-forth duel in the blistering heat.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: ‘We had a battle’: Miguel Angel Jimenez wins 2025 Kaulig Companies Championship in playoff
Reporting by Ryan Lewis, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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