imageBANGKOK: Australia's Scott Hend said he hoped to seize his chance to play at an Olympics after moving into the Rio qualification picture with victory at the Queen's Cup in Thailand.

The Australian veteran leapfrogged compatriot Marcus Fraser to 74th in the world rankings from 87th after Sunday's Asian Tour win in Koh Samui, putting him in line for a spot at the Olympics in August. Fraser dropped from 76th to 80th.

Hend is only the fourth-ranked Australian, but the withdrawals of compatriots Adam Scott through scheduling issues and Marc Leishman, who cited fears over the Zika virus, have put him in line to make the Aussie two-man team alongside world number one Jason Day as golf returns to the Games after a 112-year absence.

"There are three more weeks for the Olympic qualifying and my next big goal is to play well in the BMW International this week to get into The (British) Open," he said, according to an Asian Tour press release.

"I am 43 this year, who knows how much longer I can play although I'm getting better with age. It'll be nice to play in the Olympics and be one of the first few Australians to play in it since golf's re-inclusion," he said.

"It's all these different things that you chalk up in your career and when you are finished, you just sit back and say this is what I did."

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2016

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