Jarmo Sandelin took another huge step towards clinching his place in the European Ryder Cup side when he moved into the halfway lead in the German Open at Sporting Cub Berlin.
The tall Swede, currently fifth in the European team ranking, fired a second round 64, eight under par, to take a one shot advantage over South Africa’s Roger Wessels with an 11 under par total of 133.
And a second victory of the season for Sandelin would see him climb into third place in the qualifying table and effectively seal his Ryder Cup debut at The Country Club, Brookline, in September.
“For sure a win would get me into the team” he said. “Even a good finish. I don’t even have to win to make sure but there are still 36 holes to go and anything can still happen. That’s why we love and hate this game so much.”
Sandelin’s superb 64 enabled him to convert a seven shot deficit on first round leader Gary Evans into a one stroke lead. Evans slipped back with a 75 after his record-breaking 62 the previous day, while second place is held by Wessels (67, 67) with Dutchman Robert Jan Derksen and Australian Geoff Ogilvy next on 136.
The Swede is poised to become the fourth player from that country to play Ryder Cup golf and he admitted: “When you are a junior you dream of one day playing in the Ryder Cup. I am obviously close to one of my dreams.
“It’s the main team event we have. It’s an individual sport but it’s a great opportunity to play against the best players in the world. I like the fight between two guys. It’s good in match play to put pressure directly on the guy you are playing against and he can see that. I look forward to it.”
Sandelin, who started at the 10th, went to the turn in 32 and matched that score on the way home helped by four birdies in a row from the fourth.
Wessels fired a second successive 67 to move into sole possession of second place and admitted he is impatient to record his first win on the European Tour. He said: “This is my seventh cut in a row that I’ve made, and although there haven’t been fireworks at the weekend so far, I’m hopeful that it will come.”
Derksen, who made only his sixth cut of the season, currently lies second from last in the Axa Performance Data putting statistics and he said: “That probably explains where my problems lie.”
However he tagged a 69 on to his opening 67 to claim second place ahead of Evans, who took 13 strokes more than his opening effort. Overall, Evans conceded that he is still in a strong position and said: “I drove the ball badly. I will try to find my game again and hope the blade gets hot.”
Ogilvy, joint first round leader in the Compass Group English Open, joined Derksen later in the day with a round of 66.
Denmark’s Soren Hansen enjoyed a profitable day when he aced the 189 yard 17th hole with a six iron – the second hole in one of his life and the first on the European Tour. It earned him the handsome bonus of a Z3 BMW Cabriolet car worth around £25,000.
