The great Dane is having a season to remember on the European Challenge Tour. With two wins and four top five finishes under his belt in 2018 he lies at the summit of the Road to Ras Al Khaimah, which has seen him secure his spot at the season-ending Ras Al Khaimah Challenge Tour Grand Final as well as his European Tour playing privileges for next season, due to his highly impressive points haul of 170,706.
The 28 year old earned his maiden Challenge Tour title earlier this year having failed to pick up any silverware since his rookie season in 2012.
The triumph came courtesy of an ice cool performance in the Antalya heat at the Turkish Airlines Challenge. After taking the lead in the third round, Hansen continued his fine form with three birdies on his opening five holes to put one hand on the trophy.
‘Great feeling’
From there he never looked back as he secured a three-stroke triumph at Gloria Golf Club in what was the start of a terrific year for him.
“I was very relieved and satisfied to get a win after so many years,” said Hansen.
🚀 Longest drive at the #RolexTrophy starring:
JB Hansen
Kim Koivu@KalleSamooja@grantforrest93@PhilippMejow@AdriArnaus@ben_stow@jflimagolf
Kristian Krogh Johannessen@v_perez2@joelgirrbach@AntoineRozner pic.twitter.com/jedpDoTMeJ— Challenge Tour (@Challenge_Tour) August 24, 2018
“I had five second place finishes before that victory, so to finally get it done down the stretch was a great feeling.
“I played some very solid golf after that. I hit a lot of greens and I forced a lot of putts on the front nine. I kept hitting good shots from tee to green. Just two three-putts on the back nine were the only mistakes I made that day.”
His next victory came three months later and what better place to achieve it than in his homeland, Denmark.
‘No expectations’
Hansen became the first Danish champion of the Made in Denmark Challenge presented by Ejner Hessel, thanks to a five-stroke win over Finland’s Kalle Samooja in front of an expectant home-crowd at Himmerland Golf and Spa Resort.
“It felt great to get that win with all the Danish fans watching me,” he says. “I had no expectations to be where I am now at the start of the year. The results have just kept on coming every week and it’s been an unbelievable season for me.”
One more win on the Challenge Tour would guarantee automatic entry into the European Tour this season but Hansen only has eyes on one goal right now.
“My only focus is getting as high as possible on the Rankings,” he says. “Of course, I would love to play on the European Tour this season, but I’m fully focused on the Challenge Tour and doing what I have to do to play where I want to next year.”
