AGELESS Frankie Minoza shot a five-under par 67 yesterday and gained a share of the lead with Joenard Rates after the opening round of the ICTSI Pueblo de Oro Championship at the Pueblo de Oro layout in Cagayan de Oro.
Minoza kept the momentum going from his nine-under par 63 last week in the final round of the Del Monte leg, and shot six birdies for a 33-34 card. But the two-time Philippine Open champion and former Asian Tour No. 1 found an unlikely co-leader in Rates, who also turned in a bogey-free 67 to tie Minoza.
However, the two are just one stroke ahead of the pursuing field that included Tony Lascuna, Elmer Salvador, Mars Pucay and Rufino Bayron, who submitted identical 68s yesterday.
Cebuano reigning champion Charles Hong is four shots back with a 71, the same output of Marvin Dumandan, James Ryan Lam, Carl Santos-Ocampo and Gerald Rosales.
Languishing at No. 50 in the Order of Merit ranking with so-so finishes and three missed stints in the first six legs of the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour, Rates missed just one fairway and hit 16 greens, five of which he turned into birdies inside 10 feet, while saving pars in two times that he went out of regulation. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio