Miñoza headed for another poor finish

MANILA, Philippines - Frankie Miñoza barely recovered from a shaky start and limped home with a four-over 76, falling farther back at 71st even as German ace Bernhard Langer braced for another runaway win in the ACE Group Classic at The Quarry in Naples, Florida Saturday.

Miñoza made three bogeys in the first nine holes, dropped two shots on the par-5 No. 12 and had another bogey on the par-3 13th before knocking down back-to-back birdies from No. 14 for a 39-37 card in another low scoring day at the par-72 layout.

Counting his 74 in the first round, the Filipino bet pooled a 150 and dropped from 56th to 71st, his finish in his US Seniors Tour debut in The Allianz Championship at Boca Raton, Florida last week.

That was 20 shots off Langer, the Order of Merit winner last year, who sizzled with a six-under 66 to post the tournament’s 36-hole record of 14-under 130, four shots clear of Mark O’Meara (69), Fred Funk (66), Mark Calcavecchia (67) and Russ Cochran (70).

The 53-year-old Langer has failed to win only once in 10 tournaments he’s either shared or been in the lead after two rounds. That was in the 2009 Toshiba Classic, when he was tied for the lead.

“I don’t have a different mindset, but I’d rather be in front than behind,” Langer said. “If you’re (in front) and make a mistake, you can make a mistake or two and still be in front. If you’re behind and you make a mistake, you’re further behind. So it’s easier that way, but you can’t sit back and say ‘I’m going to play safe.’”

Langer birdied his first three holes on his way to a 31 on the front nine. He bogeyed Nos. 10 and 11, but bounced back with birdies on Nos. 12, 14 and 15.

Funk and Calcavecchia will join Langer in the final group; the last 11 champions in tournament history have come out of the final pairing.

David Frost and Nick Price are tied for sixth at nine-under 135.