Miguel Angel Jimenez attracting a new breed of fans to golf

VETERAN American journalist Dan Jenkins once described Miguel Angel Jimenez as having a warm-up routine that would get a stripper arrested. His belly stands proudly, almost as if to laugh at golf's modern athletes walking by and his curly red pony-tail makes him one of golf's most recognised faces.He adores fashion, particularly the 50-plus pairs of custom-made golf shoes by Gigi Nebuloni in Milan.He loves and works on cars - his 1999 Ferrari 550 Maranello his pride and joy.And then there are the cigars. Plural. "Two or three" a day, he says with more than hint of understatement.In short, he brings plenty to attract a new audience to the game.So much so that a hardy bunch of fans have generated a "Bring Miguel Angel Jimenez to Melbourne" Facebook page. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. Many of those admirers flocked to "The Mechanic" on Wednesday as he brought his game back to Royal Melbourne for the first time since 1992 to a constant wave of autograph and picture hunters - a fame he takes in his stride."I just give to the people something back, no? Do sign, do photos, we're happy, we're smiling - that's part of the deal," the Spaniard said as he prepared for the World Cup with partner Rafael Cabrera Bello."I like it here. People here are very nice here. It's nice to be back."He understands the mingling and even with his 50th birthday little more than a month away, he still loves his golf.But his passion for cigars knows no bounds, including being a trading partner with golf fanatic and basketball legend Michael Jordan."He's a good guy. Every time we see each other we exchange cigars … always Cuban," he said.As a rule, Jimenez doesn't smoke during tournaments, but in practice rounds and on the range, he totes with him a unique holder that keeps his precious Riojas off the ground so that a quick puff is never far from his reach.