Tim Thelen secures a victory at the Fubon Senior Open
Tim Thelen carded a three-under par 69 in the final round of the Fubon Senior Open, to secure his third European Seniors Tour title of the season, on Sunday, November 11, 2012.
The tournament was being played at the Miramar Golf & Country Club, featuring some of the prominent names on the Seniors Tour.
Thelen became the only American to record three Seniors Tour victories in one season, since John Grace did the same in 2000.
Furthermore, he also made it into the top-three in the Order of Merit, which assured him a berth in the 2013 US Senior Open Championship.
Entering the final round, the American was trailing the overnight leader Jong Duck Kim by three strokes.
Meanwhile, when Kim struggled with his game on day three for a nine-over par 81, Thelen maintained his form and registered a sparkling five-stroke victory over Chris Williams and Frankie Minoza.
Thelen parred each of the first six holes. By the time he reached the seventh hole, he was sharing the top spot with Kim, thanks to the South Korean’s bogeys on the third, fifth and the sixth hole.
Thelen then recorded birdies on the seventh and the eighth hole, followed by a bogey on the ninth.
In the meantime, Kim conceded another bogey on the seventh hole and followed that with a double bogey on the eighth hole.
Thelen was then way ahead of his rivals in the field and stretched his lead with birdies on the 13th and the 18th hole.
At the start of the tournament, Thelen predicted 14-under par as the winning score. At the end of the event, he posted the same score to take the trophy home.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Thelen. “Words cannot describe how incredible this is for me. I had been a playing pro for 23 years and I was just delighted to get on the Senior Tour last year but to win three times this year is just unfathomable”.
He added, “The fact that I am out here playing with some of the best Senior players in the world is so great but to be competing and winning is just way beyond my wildest dreams”.
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