Tim Thelen shares the lead at the Fubon Senior Open
The European Seniors Tour has finally entered the second last event of the season, the Fubon Senior Open, in Taiwan, with a number of players contending for the top positions in the Order of Merit.
The two-time winner this season, Tim Thelen has also set his sights on finishing the season among the top-four in the list, after he shared the opening-round lead with Peter Dahlberg, on Friday.
Last year, he joined the Seniors Tour through the2011 Qualifying School. He made his breakthrough on the 50-and-over tour by winning the Berenberg Bank Masters and Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open this season.
He now plans to move one step ahead by finishing the season on a high note, in a bid to qualify for the 2013 US Seniors Open.
According to the US Seniors Open’s qualifying policy, the top-four players at the end of the 2012 European Seniors Tour season will receive invitations to participate in the event in 2013.
Therefore, Thelen is in prime position of retaining his spot in the rankings, as he currently holds the fourth position in the list.
“There are a lot of good players out here but my aim now is to go on and keep hold of a top four spot in the Order of Merit, so I really wanted to play well here and then go on to have a good week in Mauritius,” he said.
He added, “A top four place means a spot in the US Senior Open as well as having my hotel paid for in Mauritius so that would be great!”
The American parred each of the first five holes that he played, prior to picking up some pace from the sixth hole.
He registered a sparkling eagle on the sixth hole and followed that with a couple of birdies on the next two holes to reach the turn in four-under. He then added another two shots to his scorecard on the 10th and the 14th hole for a six-under par 66.
“I’m at six under par now and I think if I can get to 14 under by Sunday that will be a very hard score to beat,” he said.
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