Pueblo will host its first ever professional event and the appearance of Miñoza and his brothers Peter and Raul who are all members of the exclusive club add a special meaning to the visit of a circuit put up by First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, San Miguel Beer and WG&A Super Ferry.
Five of the previous six leg winners who are in the field should not expect Miñoza to be a gracious host.
Pressure is building up on Miñoza, now 42, to recover his winning touch (his last victory anywhere was in the Fujisankei Classic in May, 2001) and the young guns of a minor league have already shown him it won’t be that easy.
Still working on the flaws of his game with his swing doctor Roger Retuerto, Miñoza placed 15th in Davao where he broke par just once in three days. The player who was once among the world’s top 40 should be better prepared for next week’s leg in Del Monte which he calls home but a previous commitment in Manila may force him to skip it.
With the steady stream of different winners on the tour organized by the Federation of Golf Clubs Philippines, Inc., expectations are high that the trend will continue especially since most players really are not familiar with the Pueblo course.
Pueblo is a beauty at a mountain top, its flora and fauna blending with the friendly character of a par-72 course that stretches to as long as 5,165 yards.
Mizuno pro Mars Pucay, who won the Rancho Palos Verdes stop last week after a double-bogey blunder on the last hole by Cassius Casas, believes that the course offers challenges that can make for a finish as exciting in Davao.
"There are a lot of holes with a reach and reward offer and it’s a matter of getting the right placements on greens and avoiding the fairway bunkers," said Pucay, who broke a four-year title drought with that one-stroke win and moved up to third in the Order of Merit.
Pucay said that fairway bunkers will put the 3-wood to good use off the tee: "It will be tough hitting second shots from the bunkers and though bold plays, if successful, can leave you with a short pitch to the green."
Casas is also bent on making up for that big slip and with the other members of the distinguished club of champions that includes OOM frontrunner Benjie Magada, Antonio Lascuna and Richard Sinfuego here, a wide-open battle seems in the offing.
Not in the field is the young Angelo Que, who had just earned his Asian Tour card and got into the elite Caltex Masters field this week in Singapore by virtue of finishing among the top three. Joining him there are Danny Zarate and Gerald Rosales.