(Reuters) - 'The Mechanic' leaked oil in the home straight but Miguel Angel Jimenez held on to win the Senior British Open by one stroke from Bernhard Langer at St. Andrews on Sunday.
Jimenez sank a clutch 10-foot par putt at the famous par-four 17th road hole before securing victory with a tap-in par at the last, the same hole where his late Spanish countryman Seve Ballesteros clinched the 1984 British Open.
"It's a place where everybody wants to win," said Jimenez. "It's a place where Seve won his second Open and it's amazing to win here and make history.
Jimenez, nicknamed 'The Mechanic', carded 69 to finish at 12-under-par 276, while Langer shot 68 for second place.
Playing ahead of Jimenez, the German could only par the last after misjudging his approach shot to leave himself with a 50-foot putt for the tie.
Earlier, Jimenez broke clear and had a short putt at the par-five 14th to go four shots ahead.
But he missed the chance and when he bogeyed the next the margin, thanks to a Langer birdie at the same hole, was down to one stroke, which is where it remained as both players parred the final three holes.
A 21-times winner on the European Tour, Jimenez, 54, finished equal second at the U.S. Senior Open in June.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; editing by Clare Fallon)
