Miñoza cards 68, trails by one shot

MANILA, Philippines - Frankie Miñoza overcame a wild start with a blazing finish in a rare stint on a links course and came away with a two-under 68 to trail American Gene Sauers by one at the start of The Senior Open Championship at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, Merseyside, England.

Miñoza, oozing with confidence coming off back-to-back wins on the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour, fought back from a shaky four-over start with a flawless five-under 31 at the back, pulling him back from the tailend of the 143-player field into joint second with South African David Frost, German ace Bernhard Langer and Australian Peter Senior.

“I stayed patient which is important as I’m still learning how to play the links courses,” said Miñoza. “You never know what the weather is going to do but I like it because you have to learn how to hit the ball low, how to hit a high ball, how to pull 50 yards off the green.”

The ace Filipino shotmaker appeared to have learned them fast as he settled down at the back and turned in a brilliant finish in bright and breezy condition at the par-70 layout, including three straight from No. 14, that put him back in early contention in the $2 million event.

The seven-time Japan PGA Tour champion opened with a bogey then made a horrendous triple-bogey on the par-4 No. 3 to fall behind. He recovered with consecutive birdies from No. 4 but dropped another stroke on the eighth for a three-over 37 at the turn.

But the two-time Philippine Open champion gained momentum after birdying No. 10 and saving pars twice in the next three holes, stringing birdies from No. 14 before holing out with another birdie on the 18th for a 31.

Miñoza, who came into the 72-hole championship in top form after posting a pair of runaway victories at ICTSI Del Monte and ICTSI Pueblo de Oro, hopes to sustain his fiery windup as he tees off at 1:30 p.m. in Friday’s second round (8:10 p.m. Manila time).

Sauers, a three-time winner on the US PGA Tour who is on a comeback trail following a two-year absence after suffering from a potentially fatal skin condition, also finished in style, hitting three straight birdies from No. 15 for a three-under 67.

Frost and Langer likewise leaned on a pair of strong finishing kicks to join Miñoza at second with the former gunning down an eagle on the 17th and the latter closing out with back-to-back birdies.

In contrast, Senior missed joining Sauers in the lead with a bogey on the par-4 18th while defending champion Fred Couples struggled with a 74.

Over in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Team ICTSI’s Princess Superal and Pauline del Rosario dropped their Round of 16 matches to bow out of the US Girls Junior Championship match play at the Sycamore Golf Club Thursday.

Superal watched Gabriella Then sink a long putt for birdie on the 18th, giving her American rival a 1-up victory while Del Rosario dropped three holes in a five-hole stretch at the back and yielded a 3&2 result to Cheyene Knight of Texas.