Swing guru upbeat on Frankie’s form

Take it from coach Roger Retuerto, Frankie Miñoza is in for another Philippine Open glory.

“His swing is okay and he’s playing with a lot of confidence,” said Retuerto, who flashed a familiar thumbs-up sign when asked if his ward is bound for another Open success.

The soft-spoken mentor, a former national team coach who once handled the Brunei national squad, watched Miñoza play yesterday at Wack Wack’s east layout, his first practice round since the top Filipino shotmaker romped away with a two-shot win over Gerald Rosales last year.

Retuerto said Miñoza’s current form is a lot better than the last time out, particularly on the long game, making him the man to beat in this year’s 92nd staging of the country’s premier and Asia’s oldest golf championship.

Even Thaworn Wiranchant, the Thai ace and former Asian Tour Order of Merit winner and the leading foreign bet in the 150-player Open field, was impressed with Miñoza’s form that he volunteered to partner with the Filipino ace in a team championship.

“‘I think we will be unbeatable in a team event with Frankie so solid with his long game and me taking care of the short game,’” Retuerto quoted Wiratchant as saying during the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea last month.

Miñoza, then coming off a so-so season on the Asian Tour and the Japan PGA, sought the help of Retuerto in mid-2006 where he fixed a minor kink in his arsenal. Straight away, the 61-year-old Retuerto made Miñoza swing in just one plane and more circular.

The result was a second RP Open victory last year with the ABC Championship on the Japan PGA Tour to boot, earning him another two-year exemption on the lucrative circuit in the region.

After this week’s Open, Retuerto said Miñoza will concentrate in Japan, his base in the 1990s and early 2000 which starts its 2008 season this month. – Dante Navarro