Minoza looking to cheer up home fans
Minoza looking to cheer up home fans
Agence France-Presse, Manila
Frankie Minoza, the Philippines leading golfer, will be looking
to give the home fans something to cheer about when the
US$175,000 Philippine Open tees off here on Thursday.
Minoza is one of four previous champions in the field for the
87th edition of Asia's oldest national open.
Local hero Felix Casas returns for his title defense while
2000 winner Gerald Rosales, also from the Philippines, and
Korea's Anthony Kang, victorious in 1999, are tipped to be
amongst the top contenders.
The 42-year-old Minoza claimed a famous victory in 1998 and
has gone on to be successful in Japan, where he won his sixth
title last year at the Fuji Sankei Classic.
Kang, currently eighth on the Order of Merit, will cherish a
return as he won his first professional title here by winning the
event in 1999.
Then, he birdied four of the last seven holes on the final day
to triumph by one stroke.
He is also enjoying a rich vein of form following outstanding
performances at the recent Singapore Masters and Malaysian Open
tournaments, which were both joint Asian-European tour events.
Kang finished tied 10th in Singapore and was joint 11th in
Malaysia.
"It was a lot of fun playing in the final group on Saturday
(during the Malaysian Open) and I enjoyed playing with Ian
Woosnam and Padraig Harrington in the final round as they have
achieved so much in their careers," he said.
"My plan is to keep getting myself into these situations. I
have to learn to play better in the future when I'm in
contention. My game is slowly coming around since I started
working with a coach last year and it is probably showing in my
scores."
Like Kang, Rosales' triumph in front of his home fans two
years ago was his first professional success. "The Philippine
Open is a special event and I am looking forward to it. My
victory in 2000 was my first win as a professional and it meant a
lot to me even though the tournament was not on the tour schedule
that year."