| Hanna has competed in eight tournaments on the European Challenge Tour schedule this year, enjoying solid finishes at the Dimension Data Pro-Am in George South Africa, where he finished tied for third, along with a solid Spanish swing where he finished sixth at the Challenge de Cadiz and seventh at the Challenge de España.
The 26-year-old had his girlfriend caddying for him both weeks in the Spanish Swing, adding to the comfort factor as he traverses across the continent with dreams of securing a European Tour card.
“It’s been a good run,” he said. “I had my girlfriend with me, she caddied for me both weeks. I was pretty consistent; I didn’t have a super low one or a super high one. I played nice and the hotel, weather and food were great which meant it was a comfortable and easy couple of weeks.
“We’re not allowed caddies this week but apart from that everything else will be the same, I won’t change something that seems to be working.”
Looking ahead to this week, Hanna believes the links course will pose different challenges, but he is hopeful he can keep the momentum going and maybe even secure a maiden win on the Challenge Tour.
“I haven’t actually played the course yet, but I will be heading out there soon,” he said. “I took the weekend off after the events, so I didn’t do a whole lot of practice yesterday with the weather. The course looks tight from what I have seen so I will have to be really good off the tee as there are bushes both sides. If I can keep the mojo going, I feel like I can have a good week.
“I’ve put myself in contention two or three times already this year and I’m just aiming to get into the final group a few more times and then the goal is to win. I’ve played in the final group twice already this year and I feel like I’ve learnt a lot from those experiences. If I keep putting myself in those positions, I am eventually going to crack one of the events so that is the goal.”
Hanna, who turned professional in 2017, believes that keeping his confidence up and believing in himself will put him one step closer to finishing in the top 20 of the Road to Mallorca Rankings.
“I think that it is well within reach and my goal is to finish in the top five in the Rankings,” he said. “I feel like I’m playing that caliber of golf but in order to do that it’s important to have one big week to really push you up the standings.
“You can’t really control winning because there’s 155 other guys playing in the tournament, but you can just constantly put yourself in position the odds are that you eventually win one. So, I can’t see any reason why I can’t get in that top five and that gives some breathing room to still make the top 20 if I fall short of that goal.”
The Open de Bretagne will begin at 8:10am local time on Thursday June 23, with Hanna teeing it up at 13:44pm alongside Irish Challenge winner Daan Huizing and Frenchman Grégory Bourdy. |
