Miñoza 4th in EPGA leg, earns P2.4M

Frankie Minoza hit pay dirt in the rich European PGA Tour for the first time in a long while yesterday, earning euro 34,708 (about P2.4 million) after finishing joint fourth with Colin Montgomerie at the conclusion of the Indonesian Open.

Earlier in the day, Minoza matched par in the last four holes of his rain-delayed third round for a stirring closing card of eight-under 66.

Then he sustained the momentum of his third-round charge with a four-under-par 66 in the final round for a remarkable 18-under total of 262 in the tournament he has ruled twice in the past.

Minoza was eight under through 14 holes Saturday in the rain-suspended third round, leaving the 45-year-old Filipino star just a stroke out of the lead and in position to take a run at a 59.

Minoza, the 1986 and 1990 winner, needed to play the final four holes in three under yesterday morning to become the first player to break 60 on the PGA European Tour and Asian Tour.

The revered Filipino player, however, settled for 62 and, with his final-round 66, came in fourth behind eventual champion Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand, second placer Raphael Jacquelin of France and Australian Adam Fraser.

But it could already be a morale-boosting finish for Minoza, who lost his Japan Tour card.

Wiratchant won his first European Tour title with a seven-under-par 63 for 25-under 255.

Wiratchant closed in style with a birdie on the 18th hole to finish five shots ahead of F Jacquelin with Fraser a shot further back in third after a hole-in-one on the 17th.

Montgomerie came agonizingly close to the first ever sub-60 round on the European Tour in the final round

Montgomerie had a 10-foot putt on his final hole that would have given him a stunning 59, but left it several inches short of the cup.