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HANSEN RACES TO MAIDEN TITLE IN TURKEY
oachim B Hansen claimed his �rst European Challenge Tour title with a cool performance in the Antalya heat at the Turkish Airlines Challenge . After a third round of 69 set him on the road to glory with the overnight lead going into the �nal 18 holes , Hansen carefully navigated the New Course at Gloria Golf Club to secure his maiden victory on Europe ’ s top developmental tour .
With seven players just one shot back on 11 under par going into the �nal round , Hansen said that ‘ anyone could win it ’ but in reality , the Dane never gave anyone else a chance . He started with a �urry of three birdies in the �rst �ve holes as he moved to 15 under par , while playing partner Simon Forsström bogeyed three of the opening �ve . German Max Schmitt began the day three shots back but a blemish-free front nine gave him a share of the lead after registering a birdie on the ninth hole .
Hansen carded a fourth birdie of the round on the par four eighth to make the turn in 33 and re-take the outright lead , with Schmitt , among others , just beginning to apply the pressure on the 27 year old . However , another birdie for Hansen on the par four 11th extended his lead to three and he was looking like he may run away with it . Road to Ras Al Khaimah Number One Lorenzo Gagli posted three birdies in his �nal nine holes to sign for a closing 67 and set the clubhouse lead at 15 under par , while Challenge Tour debutant Jack Singh Brar later �nished with three birdies in his �nal four holes to sit alongside Gagli .
With the Italian and the young Englishman applying the pressure on Hansen , he followed three consecutive pars with a bogey at the 14th as he slipped back to 16 under par with his lead shrinking to one . The chasing pack did their best to drag Hansen back into a dog �ght , but the great Dane came out unscathed with birdies at the 16th and 17th to move to 18
30 G o l f P l u s MAY 2018
under par . Scot Ewen Ferguson was nicely poised on 15 under par with one hole left to play but the 21 year old carded a double bogey on the last to end any hopes he held of forcing a late twist . All Hansen had to do was safely get through the last hole and he did just that , carding a par before countrymen Niklas Norgaard Møller and Martin Ovesen raced onto the green and sprayed the winner with champagne before giving him a Turkish bath by dragging him into the lake which separates the ninth and 18th holes at Gloria Golf Club .
The Dane was delighted to secure his �rst triumph and �nally a end nine-year wait for a Challenge Tour trophy . “ I ’ m very relieved and satis�ed to win after so many years ,” he said . “ I have had �ve second places before so to �nally get it done down the stretch is a great feeling .
“ I didn ’ t know what to expect to shoot today so six under and almost nothing to set a �nger on is very satisfying and I ’ m proud
JB Hansen with the trophy
of myself . “ It feels good to get my �rst Challenge Tour win . After so many second places I felt like ‘ am I ever going to win ? Is it possible ?’ “ I won in February earlier this year in a third level tournament and picked up my �rst pro victory . “ Hopefully I can keep playing good golf for the rest of the year , stay in the top 15 and go further next year .
“ I played very solid , 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 today . “ I made a lot of birdies today and they were all really good . I didn ’ t think some putts were going to go in but they did go in and I kept it going .” With victory in Turkey Hansen moves to second place on the Road to Ras Al Khamiah with 57,543 points , more than 35,000 points behind Gagli who took a huge leap towards the European Tour with a share of second place in Antalya .