Miñoza fires 64, trails by one shot

Frankie Miñoza flashed vintage form and shot a brilliant 64 in a bogey-free round that put the ace Filipino shotmaker just a stroke behind joint leaders Padraig Harrington of Ireland and Englishman Warren Bennett and in the company of the fancied Vijay Singh at the start of the rich Caltex Singapore Masters at the Singapore Island Country Club’s Bukit Course yesterday.

It was a big recovery by the 40-year-old Miñoza from a forgettable 71st place finish in last week’s Malaysian Open ruled by Singh although the big opening charge was expected from the man who ruled this event in 1998 in the same year he bagged his first-ever Philippine Open crown and the Kirin Open title in Japan to emerge the best player in Asia for the second time.

Harrington, out to erase the stigma of his sorry loss to Singh on the third playoff in Kuala Lumpur last week, took advantage of a wind-less early morning flight and fired a 63, eight-under par over the par 71 layout.

Bennett matched that effort in the afternoon as the duo showed the way for the star-studded field that also includes top European player Colin Montgomerie of Scotland and Asia’s top shotmakers in this $890,000 event serving as the seventh leg of the European Tour and fourth in the Asian PGA Tour.

Singh, the reigning US Masters champion who is playing with a high-level of confidence following his energy-sapping victory last week in the rain-delayed Malaysian Open, celebrated his 38th birthday by matching Miñoza’s seven-under card as they shared third place with Maarten Lafeber of Holland and Anthony Wall of England.

Australian Richard Green stood in solo seventh with a 65 while Korean Anthony Kang, winner of the Casino Filipino Open at Southwoods in 1999, shot a 66 to tie Montgomerie and seven others.

Although it was an inspiring start by Miñoza, it still took him three holes at the backside, where he teed off with Aaron Meeks and C. Hannell in one of the afternoon flights, to shake off the rust in him as he only got going after he birdied the par 5 No. 13.

A noted long hitter, Miñoza came through with superb iron shots that set up makeable birdie putts as he birdied the three other par 5s and two par 3s and par 4s before settling for routine pars on the last three holes at the front.

Gerald Rosales nearly blew a solid start as he sputtered at the backside but a birdie on the par 5 18th saved him a round of 68 and a place among the top 25 in this rich event.

The reed-thin Rosales, holding his own against some of the world’s best players, opened up with back-to-back birdies, fumbled with a bogey on the par 4 No. 5 but birdied three of the next five holes to post a four-under 31 card at the turn.

But the reigning Philippine Open champion, who emerged the best Filipino finisher at 25th in Kuala Lumpur, bogeyed Nos. 13 and 14, scrambled for pars in the next four holes before closing out with his sixth birdie for that 68.

Cassius Casas lost his rhythm and momentum on a bogey-riddled frontnine, the backside of his game, as he settled for a one-over par 72 and found himself in danger of missing the cut.

Cuello, a two-time leg winner in the Davidoff Tour, went three-under after four-holes, including an eagle-3 at the par 5 No. 4. But the burly Bacolod native fumbled with bogeys on Nos. 6 and 8 and finished with another 72.

Danny Zarate, the fifth and last Filipino in the fold, had an up-and-down round of 75 and was in 133 place in the 144-player field.