Minoza grabs 3-shot lead in Champions Tour qualifying tourney

The Philippines' Frankie Minoza carded a four-under-par 68 to enjoy a three-shot advantage after the second round of the 2010 Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament held at the TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, Florida. Minoza's score on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) moved him a step closer to a stint in the US Champions Tour. Minoza now has a two-day total of a 10-under 134 after an opening day six-under 66. Five players are lurking behind Minoza at second place. Americans Trevor Dodds (66), Fred Holton (70), Lee Rinker (69), and Keith Clearwater (69) and England's Roger Chapman (67) all posted seven-under 137s. The 50-year-old Minoza, still the PHL's top golfer, is chasing a Top 5 finish which will guarantee him full-exempt status for the 2011 Champions Tour. The next seven placers will have conditional exemption while the Top 30 and ties will be eligible to compete for spots in open qualifiers at all Champions Tour-sponsored events. Minoza had a total of 12 birdies in two days. His front nine was just superb, especially an eagle on the eighth. The eagle put him at five-under after No. 8, where he hit his three-wood second shot from about 260 yards to land to within 15 feet. Minoza, a 15-event worldwide winner, then calmly sank the putt. Minoza has already competed in three events in the European Senior Tour this year. He was a runner-up in the Chang Thailand Senior Masters and the Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters. He missed the chance of playing the US Senior Tour in 2009 because of procedural problems in securing his birth certificate. That, however, didn't deter him from biding his time while waiting for another opportunity. – Adrian Flores/JVP/KY, GMANews.TV