Miñoza joint 2nd, earns P3.8M

Slowed down by a storm delay after 11 holes, Frankie Miñoza made an uncharacteristic double-bogey on No. 14 and blew his title bid in the Indonesia Open with a closing even par 71, settling for joint second with two others in the $1 million event ruled by Mikko Ilonen of Finland yesterday in Jakarta.

Despite the setback, Miñoza succeeded in wresting the No. 1 spot in the Asian Tour Order of Merit ranking as he won a whopping $79,055 (roughly P3.8 million) to hike his earnings to $147,914. The ace Filipino shotmaker was at No. 3 behind China’s Liang Wen-chong and England’s Simon Dyson before the Indonesia Open. But Liang didn’t see action while Dyson finished joint 11th.

It was, however, a sorry windup for the 47-year-old Miñoza, who had looked forward to a successful weekend after storming to a share of the lead with Ilonen after three rounds of play at the par-71 Damai Indah Golf and Country Club. He dropped to second after nine holes but drew level again at 9-under with a birdie on No. 10 before play was halted due to thunderstorms.

But the ace Filipino shotmaker, eyeing a second Asian Tour crown in three weeks after ruling the Philippine Open, missed the par-4 14th green, which he birdied in the second and third rounds. Chipping from the deep rough, Miñoza made a poor shot and needed one more pitch to get into the green before two-putting for a 6.

He never recovered from that double-bogey mishap, parring the last four holes for a share of second with Aussie Andrew Tampion (69) and Indian Shiv Kapur (67) at 276.

Ilonen bogeyed the final hole but still won by one with a one-under 70 and a 72-hole aggregate of 275. He bagged the top purse worth $176,694 in this event sanctioned by the European Tour.

But Miñoza’s failed bid for a maiden European Tour leg victory also cost him the rare chance to earn a two-year exemption to play in the tough Euro Tour.