John Hahn is hoping to follow in the footsteps of American European Tour trailblazers Peter Uihlein and Brooks Koepka after he moved top at Qualifying School Final Stage thanks to a superb six under par 66 in Spain.
Having come through the First and Second Qualifying Stages en route to this week’s six-round marathon, Hahn fired seven birdies on the more testing Stadium Course at PGA Catalunya Resort in Girona to go two clear of Sweden’s Jens Dantorp.
England’s Richard Finch and 1999 Final Stage victor Alastair Forsyth, meanwhile, were one shot further back and part of a five-way tie for third place.
With PGA Catalunya basking in glorious sunshine on day two, Hahn got off to a red-hot start with three birdies in his first five holes while his sole dropped shot of the day came at the short eighth.
The Ohio native found four further gains on the back nine but none more impressive than at the challenging 490-yard par four 17th, where Hahn hit his six iron approach to ten feet as a rare birdie there capped a brilliant second day.
“I hit it great all day long and putted much better than yesterday,” said Hahn, who triumphed at Fleesensee in Germany in one of the eight First Qualifying Stages to kick-start his Tour School journey back in September.
“I stayed aggressive and knew I was playing well so I went after some pins you probably wouldn’t usually take on and it ended up paying off today.
“Sometimes when you start off hot it’s hard to keep it going but it was impressive – if I do say so myself – because I actually got better on the back nine and things seem pretty easy when it’s like that.”
After turning professional in 2011, Hahn qualified for The 2013 US Open at Merion, where he played with US veterans Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson in practice, but says it was the inspiration of two of his younger compatriots that brought him to European shores.
“The experience at the US Open was the defining point of my career so far and I just want to keep the momentum going and hopefully that will be in Europe,” continued Hahn, who was one of 83 Americans to enter this year’s Qualifying School – 40 more than in 2012.
“There are obviously a lot of young American guys trying to make it over here now and that is 100 per cent because of Peter Uihlein and Brooks Koepka and their success. I know both of them and that was certainly my main reason.
“I had spoken to Peter about it and he says he loves it, really enjoys it and it’s a great place to hone your game. You get to play in worse conditions than you do on the PGA Tour.It’s a different type of golf and that will only improve you and make you a more well-rounded player.
“I want to travel Europe, get to experience the culture, the players and the golf courses because at the end of the day, it’s the Home of Golf.”
Sweden’s Dantorp posted a two under par 68 on the Tour Course to claim second place outright following the second round to consolidate a fine start on Sunday, when he matched the low round of the week on the Stadium Course with a six under par 66.
The 24 year old Malmo native, who finished 21st in the 2013 Challenge Tour rankings, did well to bounce back from a double bogey at the 15th as he closed with a birdie at the par five last.
Former Ryder Cup star Oliver Wilson, meanwhile, was four shots off the lead after an excellent 67 on the Stadium Course on Monday.
After two more rounds alternating between both championship courses at the stunning PGA Catalunya in north-eastern Spain, the top 70 and ties will then tee it up on the Stadium Course for the final 36 holes. Those sharing 25th place and better come close of play on Friday will then claim a coveted European Tour card for the 2014 season.
Scores:
NB – Collated Scores after players alternated between two separate courses, the par-70 Tour Course and par-72 Stadium Course.
132 J Hahn (USA) 66 66;
134 J Dantorp (Swe) 66 68;
135 A Forsyth (Sco) 65 70; J Fahrbring (Swe) 71 64; L Bjerregaard (Den) 65 70; R Finch (Eng) 64 71; B Stone (RSA) 69 66;
136 A Gee (Eng) 66 70; D Brooks (Eng) 65 71; R McGee (Irl) 70 66; O Wilson (Eng) 69 67; M Jonzon (Swe) 64 72; E Goya (Arg) 66 70; F Zanotti (Par) 66 70; E Espana (Fra) 62 74; W Ormsby (Aus) 69 67;
137 D Kemmer (USA) 67 70; T Whitehouse (Eng) 68 69; K Pratt (Aus) 71 66; M Lundberg (Swe) 69 68; O Stark (Swe) 66 71; G Wright (Wal) 72 65; T Pieters (Bel) 64 73; C Paisley (Eng) 67 70; S Wakefield (Eng) 69 68; G Lockerbie (Eng) 72 65; A Saddier (Fra) 71 66; A Hartø (Den) 67 70; F Andersson Hed (Swe) 69 68; M Tullo (Chi) 67 70;
138 H Leon (Chi) 68 70; P Sjöland (Swe) 66 72; E Kofstad (Nor) 70 68; J Doherty (Sco) 68 70; J Elson (Eng) 64 74; W Harrold (Eng) 65 73; C Del Moral (Esp) 67 71; J Barnes (Eng) 66 72; C Shinkwin (am) (Eng) 68 70;
139 S Manley (Wal) 68 71; A McArthur (Sco) 66 73; J Knutzon (USA) 70 69; O Floren (Swe) 72 67; G Stal (Fra) 71 68; D McGuigan (Sco) 71 68; J Watts (Eng) 68 71; M Lafeber (Ned) 71 68; A Domingo (Esp) 66 73; J Lagergren (Swe) 65 74; B Dredge (Wal) 68 71; R Pettersson (Swe) 70 69; T Lee (USA) 64 75; A Björk (Swe) 74 65; J Morrison (Eng) 72 67;
140 D Higgins (Irl) 67 73; K Horne (RSA) 72 68; K Phelan (Irl) 73 67; J Huldahl (Den) 72 68; M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 67 73; S Hodgson (Eng) 71 69; L Gagli (Ita) 74 66; J Heath (Eng) 69 71; E Dubois (Fra) 75 65; M Korhonen (Fin) 69 71; A Johnston (Eng) 67 73;
141 B Henson (USA) 71 70; A Marshall (Eng) 71 70; M Delpodio (Ita) 70 71; P Price (Wal) 74 67; J Lando Casanova (Fra) 76 65; T Van Der Walt (RSA) 72 69; C Ortiz (Mex) 73 68; B Paolini (USA) 70 71; D Dixon (Eng) 73 68; N Lemke (Swe) 66 75; J Guerrier (Fra) 73 68; M Crespi (Ita) 71 70; D Gavins (Eng) 69 72; J Lucquin (Fra) 68 73; O Fisher (Eng) 72 69; W Besseling (Ned) 68 73;
142 J Edfors (Swe) 69 73; N Quintarelli (Ita) 68 74; M Orrin (Eng) 71 71; P Archer (Eng) 72 70; F Fritsch (Ger) 72 70; P Martin Benavides (Esp) 73 69; A McLardy (RSA) 77 65; A Haig (RSA) 68 74; J Robinson (Eng) 71 71; P Edberg (Swe) 73 69; S Henry (Sco) 72 70; A Dodt (Aus) 71 71; C Arendell (USA) 72 70; A Garcia-Heredia (Esp) 72 70; M Grönberg (Swe) 75 67; T Nørret (Den) 71 71; D McElroy (am) (Nir) 68 74;
143 C Bouniol (Fra) 73 70; M Zions (Aus) 72 71; G Cambis (Fra) 71 72; V Phillips (Eng) 72 71; C Hanson (Eng) 66 77; D Im (USA) 70 73; R Karlberg (Swe) 66 77; P Hedblom (Swe) 69 74; T Sluiter (Ned) 68 75; L Bond (Wal) 69 74;
144 R Russell (Sco) 76 68; B An (Kor) 71 73; M Wiegele (Aut) 71 73; O Lieser (Cze) 74 70; G Murray (Sco) 67 77;
145 C Suneson (Esp) 72 73; N Fenwick (Sco) 72 73; J Timmis (Eng) 67 78; Z Scotland (Eng) 71 74; A Maestroni (Ita) 73 72; J Ahlers (RSA) 73 72; K Benz (Sui) 69 76; G Main (USA) 73 72; D Stewart (Sco) 68 77; C Monasterio (Arg) 67 78; M Brier (Aut) 74 71; Y Tsukada (Jpn) 75 70;
146 S Drummond (Sco) 75 71; B Åkesson (Swe) 75 71; D Ulrich (Sui) 77 69; N Nissen (Den) 73 73; J Rask (Swe) 77 69; B Ritthammer (Ger) 76 70; S Arnold (Aus) 75 71; M Hensby (Aus) 69 77; T Linard (Fra) 69 77; J Lara (Esp) 74 72; C Dammert (am) (Ger) 70 76;
147 I Garrido (Esp) 72 75; O Henningsson (Swe) 77 70; R Davies (Wal) 71 76; D Vancsik (Arg) 69 78; N Dougherty (Eng) 73 74;
148 R Steiner (Aut) 74 74; A Bernadet (Fra) 74 74; J Fly (USA) 72 76; R McGowan (Eng) 77 71; B Evans (Eng) 71 77;
149 E Cole (USA) 71 78; L Goddard (Eng) 75 74; J Granberg (Fin) 73 76; O Bekker (RSA) 73 76; K Ferrie (Eng) 71 78;
150 N Ravano (Ita) 69 81; J Sjöholm (Swe) 77 73;
152 A Kaleka (Fra) 79 73;
160 J Bäckström (Swe) 76 84;
190 D Popovic (Aus) 73 RT;
