Miñoza six shots behind despite 69

Frankie Miñoza shot a second straight 69 but trailed joint leaders Liu Keng-chi of Taiwan and Tsukasa Watanabe of Japan by six strokes halfway through the rich Taiheiyo Masters golf tournament in Gotemba, Japan yesterday.

Miñoza, who rallied with a 68 in the final round to salvage joint eighth place worth P1.1 million in last week’s Ana Open, had a 36-hole aggregate of 138 for solo 18th in the $1.2 million event at the par 72 Taiheiyo Club.

Lin, who showed the way with a 64 in the first round, slowed down with a 68, enabling Watanabe, firing a 67, to gain a share of the lead at 132 in one of the richest tournaments in the Japan PGA Tour.

They lead Nobuhito Sato (66), Toshimitsu Izawa (67), Masashi Ozaki (67), Kazuhito Hosokawa (67) and Tetsuji Hiratsuka (68) by one shot, while three other Japanese – Kenichi Kuboya (65), Taichi Teshima (67) and Takashi Kanemoto (67) stood a shot farther back with identical 134s.