Vintage Frankie fires solid 63 card, triumphs by five

BUKIDNON , Philippines   â€“ Frankie Miñoza put on a vintage show at home, scorching the Del Monte layout with a bogey-free, nine-under 63 to overcome a five-stroke deficit and post a whopping five-stroke victory over five others in the P1 million ICTSI Del Monte Championship here yesterday.

Miñoza, 53, recalled the form that made him the face of Philippine golf for a long time, hitting all fairways and missing all but one green, his solid iron play setting up birdie chances no farther than three feet that left his both rivals and the gallery in complete awe.

He rammed in nine birdies, wiping out Salvador’s five-stroke lead on No. 10 behind a stirring five-birdie binge and completing his romp in the 54-hole championship sponsored by ICTSI with back-to-back birdie windup for a 31-32 card.

He actually fell one birdie short of his target but his 63 proved more than enough to rout the field which had previously braced for a two- or three-man duel among Elmer Salvador, Tony Lascuña and Johvanie Abaño.

“I thought the night before that I would need a 10-under to rebound from five strokes down and get a shot at the crown,” said Miñoza in Filipino. “And it came just like that – I hit the ball pretty solid and had birdie chances from just about one to three feet.”

After two 70s and a 63, Miñoza wound up with a 13-under 203, turning a five-stroke deficit into a five-shot victory worth P200,000 as Salvador hobbled with a 73, Lascuña settled for a 72, Abaño carded a 71, Miguel Tabuena fired a 69 and James Ryan Lam charged back with a 68.

All five ended up with 208s and each took P62,000.

Del Monte oldies said the course’s best was 62 set by Miñoza himself although the former two-time Philippine Open champion and former Asian Tour No. 1 had shot a 59 in a practice round in his early 20s.

It was also Miñoza’s second win this year following his playoff victory over brothers Jay and Rufino Bayron in The Country Club Invitational last February, further boosting his confidence as he gears up for the Seniors British Open later this month.

Salvador, who hit 11 birdies against three bogeys in the first 36 holes to seize a one-stroke lead over Lascuña, had just two birdies in the final round while fumbling with three bogeys while Lascuña had a decent 34 at the front but faltered with two bogeys in the last thee holes to drop to joint second in the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.

Abaño, who topped the pro qualifier two years ago, held his ground against Salvador and Lascuña in the final flight, but missed a couple of birdie putts at the back, while Tabuena, who bounced back with a 66 Thursday, settled for pars in the face of Miñoza’s birdie spree and only got going in the closing holes with three straight birdies from No. 14.

Dutch Guido Van der Valk rallied with a 66 to salvage solo seventh at 209, Orlan Sumcad shot a 67 for eighth at 210 and last week’s Palos Verdes winner Michael Bibat made a 70 for joint ninth with Carl Santos-Ocampo (69), Charles Hong (70) and Jay Bayron (71).

It was vintage Miñoza right after he rolled in a birdie from close range on the first hole although his fiery charge came four holes later when he strung up four straight birdies to close out his frontside stint of 31.

No, make it five as he knocked down another three-footer for birdie on the 10th, quickly erasing the five-shot deficit to Salvador, who birdied No. 2 but never recovered from back-to-back bogeys from No. 4.

Miñoza, four off Lascuña at the start of the final round, tied the runaway ICTSI Calatagan leg winner with that birdie on No. 10 and seized the lead for good with another birdie on the par-5 14th.

With Salvador, Lascuña and Abaño, failing to mount any charge at the back, Miñoza cruised to victory he capped with a blistering birdie-birdie finish.

The event’s other backers were Nike Golf, Empire Golf and Sports Shop, Mizuno, Titleist, Srixon, Foot Joy, Callaway, Pacsports, Custom Clubmakers, Cleveland Golf and Sharp.