After his best start to a Challenge Tour season, Chris Hanson will be hoping to continue the form that has seen him climb to eighth on the Road to Oman Rankings when he journeys to the second instalment of the Turkish Airlines Challenge this week at Gloria Golf Club.
The Englishman closed with a superb 65 a fortnight ago at the Challenge de Madrid to finish an impressive 16 under par, and despite being five strokes adrift of eventual winner Nacho Elvira, the 28 year old Huddersfield resident was pleased to have played so well.
Hanson has improved steadily over his previous three European Challenge Tour campaigns and, after a winter of hard work, is now looking to kicking on and putting himself in the mix for graduation come year’s end.
“I’m really chuffed with how I finished the week in Madrid,” said Hanson, whose best finish came at the Aegean Airlines Challenge Tour by Hartl Resort last July, where he finished in a tie for third thanks to two eagles in four holes on the final day in Germany.
“I have been playing quite nicely at the start of the season, and my preparation beforehand was pretty good. It was disappointing to fall down the leaderboard in Kenya on Sunday, but to come back in the next event and play like I did was great.
“I had a couple of months at home over the winter, then myself and the family had a month down in Spain which really helped. I played a few events out there, and I have changed a lot in my game and worked a lot more on my fitness this year, which has added some distance.
“My progress has been slow and steady for seven or eight years, but always progressing, and that’s how I’ve got to look at it. This is a big year for me, and after a good week in Madrid I hope I can push on and get a top 15 spot."
Hanson may have already seen the fruits of his off-season labours paying dividends in the early stages of the year, but he also believes there is one more thing he can do to improve his chances from week to week.
His observation that many of the top players on the Challenge Tour last season had caddies prompted him to invite a friend out to Madrid, and as he looks to improve on the weeks where he does not quite have his A-game, he believes a bag man could well be key.
“My bad golf probably wasn’t good enough last year,” said Hanson, who finished in the top ten last year in Antalya at National Golf Club. “I had chances to win and competed, but when it wasn’t good I was too far off the pace. My confidence is starting to build though, and hopefully I can get some wins under the belt this year.
“You look at the Rankings in 2014 and the majority of the top 15 had a regular caddy. It is a financial commitment to do that, but you have to speculate to accumulate, and I bought one in Madrid and we changed the flights so he can come to Turkey, so hopefully it will help again.
“I finished seventh here last year, and it was quite tight, but I like it when it is a bit fiddly and the scoring is nearer level par. That’s what was surprising about shooting so low in Madrid, so now I’m just looking forward to the next event.
“Playing well does take the pressure off in many ways as it opens so many doors. At the beginning of the year you can plan ahead knowing the events you’ll get into, but then if you miss the first few cuts you feel like you’re chasing from the start, even though it is a long season. I’m just pleased to have started as well as I have.”
Hanson will be joined in Turkey by a whole host of top names as the season starts to gather pace, with Challenge de Madrid winner Elvira in the field looking to replicate the fireworks that saw him win on home soil two weeks ago.
Ricardo Gouveia and Ruaidhri McGee finished second to the Spaniard that week, and they will both be in the field looking to continue their good form, as will runner-up in Kenya Brandon Stone.
There will also be 14 local players set to tee it up from Thursday, as the Challenge Tour continues its mission to grow the game across the globe.
