Joachim B.

Hansen

The 31-year-old Dane, up to No. 106 in the world rankings after his two weeks in Dubai, followed up his second career win last week at the AVIV Dubai Championship with a T-9 at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth Course. Hansen finished at 11-under 277 to tie with Adri Arnaus, Paul Casey, John Catlin, Shane Lowry and Sam Horsfield (Collin Morikawa won at 17 under). He made six consecutive cuts to finish the 2021 season, making 17 cuts in 27 starts overall with five top 10s including his win. Hansen is the defending champion at this week’s Joburg Open in Johannesburg, South Africa, but is not playing. He is listed in the field for the SA Open Championship in Sun City, South Africa, on Dec. 2-5.

The 31-year-old Hansen, ranked No. 112 in the world rankings and currently 43rd in the Race to Dubai, held off 54-hole co-leader Francesco Laporta and Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger, who soared five spots up the leaderboard Sunday following a 7-under 65. Hansen, who earned his first title at the 2020 Joburg Open, made just one bogey through 72 holes in Dubai. “I really struggled finding the middle of the club on the woods so I didn’t drive it well,” he said. “The putter helped me today, I putted a lot better today than yesterday so that kept me in the game. It’s very nice going into next week. I’ve played very nice in the last few weeks and have been really close to playing really good, which I did this week. So I’m just going to take next week as a bonus week and try to enjoy it.” On the season, Hansen has made 16 cuts in 26 starts and is on a streak of five straight with no worse than a T-24 finish. He’ll make his third appearance this week at the DP World Tour Championship, where he was T-43 in 2020 and T-36 in 2019.

The 30-year-old Dane roared out of the gate with five birdies in his first eight holes played. That gave him the early lead but he slowed his pace after the turn with two birdies and two bogeys on his way into the clubhouse. Highlights today included a 30'4" birdie at the 4th and a 21'7" birdie splash at the 7th. “Kept the ball in play and hit a few close, which gave me a good chances and I also holed a few long ones which helped me with momentum on the round.” Hansen arrived with five missed cuts in his last six starts on the European Tour but a solo 5th in the other. His results have been boom-or-bust for much of the season.

The 30-year-old Dane won his second and most recent Challenge Tour title at HimmerLand when it hosted the 2018 edition of the Made in Denmark Challenge. Hansen shot 64-72-63-70=269 to finish at 15 under and five shots ahead of Finland’s Kalle Samooja. After missing the cut in his first two starts of the season – at Abu Dhabi and Dubai – Hansen has since made six straight with two top 10s. He finished seventh at the Gran Canaria Lopesan Open and T-9 at the Qatar Masters. In five previous starts in Denmark, Hansen has made the cut just twice with his best finish being T-41 in 2017. He missed the cut in 2019. Last season, Hansen captured his maiden European Tour title in South Africa at the 2020 Joburg Open by carding a bogey-free 67 in the final round to hold off native son Wilco Nienaber by two shots.

Hansen arrived fresh off his first career European Tour win (Joburg Open) but there are no signs of any hangover. He opened with a six-birdie 70 and added eight birdies (and an eagle) today. “It’s really nice to play the way I am right now and I just want to keep that going. I got it going out there and holed some good putts and kept that momentum. It’s working quite well right now and hopefully that continues for the next two days.” While the putter may have been the catalyst, his entire game is firing right now, gaining strokes over the field in all four sub-categories of strokes gained at the midpoint. Today’s 64 is the low round of the week thus far and he’s now well-positioned to make a run at his second win in as many weeks.

After missing the last two cuts of September the Dane was staring a return to Q School in the face. Cue a brilliant October which included T4 in the Open de Espana and T2 in the Open de France. It vaulted him into the season-ending big money events and he even made it to the DP World Tour Championship (T36). Suddenly a player who many recognised as a birdie and eagle machine was being looked upon as a potential winner – even if his ability to throw big numbers on the card remained a problem. His first 13 visits to South Africa were awful: just two cuts made and not one top 30 finish. But the move of this tournament to Randpark helped him – he was T6 in 2017. He was also T17 in the Nedbank Challenge at the end of last year.

What a Fall this has been for the Dane. He saved his card in October’s Open de Espana, contended in the Italian Open a week later, nearly won the Open de France, was T10 in Turkey last week – and now he finds himself transformed. From a man who might have been at Q School this week to one who might be at the DP World Tour Championship next week, because after this helter-skelter lap he is projected to rise to 48th in the rankings. He will need to maintain the momentum and, as is his wont, deal with the dropped shots. On this lap he had bogeys at the third and 15th, a double bogey-7 at the ninth, but weighed in with red numbers at 2, 7, 8, 11, 14 and 16. A good debut at the Gary Player CC in Sun City, can he press on?

The good news for Hansen was that this result was his best on the European Tour, bettering his third in the Scottish Open of 2013. It was also just a fourth top four at this level and, moreover, a second in just three weeks. But it could have been so much more. His front nine was steady, with birdies at the third and sixth against a bogey at the fourth. But he went deep on the back nine, ticking the tenth, 13th, 14th and 15th. That, combined with leader Colsaerts making double bogey at 15, gave Hansen the lead, but he fluffed it with a double bogey-6 at 17. In yet another twist he may also admit that this was some comback from making a quadruple bogey-9 on the 13th in round three. Quite a week. “The screw-up on 17, unfortunate, cost me a chance this week unfortunately,” he said. “Disappointed now but also really proud of my game today.”

The Dane secured his 2020 card with T4 two weeks ago in the Open de Espana and briefly contended in the Italian Open before recording T25. Now he’s made it a hat trick of good weeks and he can eye an outrageous win. He’s five swings back of the leader Nicolas Colsaerts, yet only two back of second placed George Coetzee. The remarkable element, however, is how he chalked up his score after the turn. Before it he had swapped birdies at the second (his third of the week), fifth and sixth with a bogey at the third. He added a birdie-2 at the 11th and then disaster struck: a nine at the par-4 13th, twice finding water with a chip. But his response was perfect – birdies at the 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th.