Miñoza stays at 46th after 72

MANILA, Philippines - Frankie Miñoza hardly recovered from a disastrous 78 Friday as he shot a two-over 72 and remained at 46th with nine others even as German ace Bernhard Langer took charge with a four-under 66 in the third round of The Senior Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in Southport, Merseyide, England Saturday.

While Miñoza came up with a gutsy backside stint which he all parred after an atrocious four-over 40 in the second round, the Filipino ace still failed to gain ground with one bogey and one double bogey with a lone birdie at the front.

With a 218 aggregate, the Filipino bet lay 17 strokes off Langer, who birdied two of the last four holes to shoot a 66 for a 54-hole total of 210.

He stood three shots clear of South African David Frost, who turned in a third straight 68 for a 204 while erstwhile leader Mark Wiebe of the US slid to third at 205 after a 70.

The rest fell six shots adrift with Sandy Lyle firing a 69 to tie first day leader Gene Sauers and Peter Fowler, who both matched par 70s at 207. Peter Senior was another stroke behind at 208 after a 69.

Miñoza, who surprised the elite field with a two-under 68 Thursday, opened with a bogey for the second time in three days, then dropped two strokes on No. 6 before birdying the par-3 seventh. He parred the last 11 holes.