Hahn's the man after fiery 58 at Q-School

<strong>By Nick Totten, europeantour.com<br />
at PGA Catalunya Resort</strong>

Sat in a Girona curry house with the satisfying spice of a chicken jalfrezi tantalizing his taste buds on Monday evening, American John Hahn would never have expected to be the talk of the golfing world less than 24 hours later, but an unbelievable round of 58 has made him just that.

As it turned out, the Ohio native – who started the day five outside where the cut mark would eventually fall upon the completion of 72 holes at the European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage – carded 12 birdies on PGA Catalunya’s Tour Course to climb back into contention for a sophomore season on The European Tour.

With preferred lies in operation throughout all six rounds this week, Hahn’s score will not count as the lowest in European Tour competition, but that is unlikely to take the shine off an unbelievable achievement at a tournament where he has performed well in the past.

Only a year ago Hahn successfully traversed all three stages of the Qualifying School process to claim the seventh card on offer in north-eastern Spain, and he seemingly revelled in the calm conditions on Tuesday, to elevate himself to eight under par and a tie for 12th spot with two rounds still to go.

At a tournament that year after year is referred to as a marathon, the 25 year old sprinted 92 places through the field, but was quick to point out that the job is far from done, after his hopes had all but been dashed by a second round 79.

“I had a quick start, and did a good job today not trying to create a number in my head, and focusing shot by shot,” said Hahn, who finished 120th on The 2014 Race to Dubai. “Obviously it got tougher as the day went on, as you get closer and closer to something pretty special, but that’s what I tried to do the whole day and luckily I was able to do it.

“I shot a 61 at the Africa Open this year, which was my lowest, so it is nice to do it competitively and not just at home. Obviously I didn’t play very well in the second round, but I knew my game was in a good place, so I stayed patient and tried not to force anything today.

“You don’t go out in the morning thinking 58 is going to happen, but obviously you are excited when it does. Preferred lies are huge, without a doubt, as it saves you from driving in a divot, up by the green you can move it the length of a scorecard, so no – listen – if you play with the ball in the hand, it is a different thing.

“You can put it on a tee but mentally you still have to shoot 58, so I’m not going to give myself too much credit, but coming down the stretch it gets difficult to hit it shot by shot and you just try to stay with your process and play hole by hole. That’s what you try to do.

“It is tough as it probably hasn’t hit me yet, but when I’m sat in bed tonight it will probably hit me more. It’s a great thing, and I respect the history of golf, and to shoot a number in the 50s doesn’t happen very often so to be able to do it, yeah, I’m proud of myself. It’s a cool thing.

“I think there are always points in your career where you say ‘put that one in the memory banks, I did that when I needed to’ and you can always draw on those experiences in the future. Maybe when you’re struggling or when you are in a similar position you can think back and say ‘Hmm, I can do this!’”

“It was a fun day, a good day, but it is a long week and it has just got me back into contention, and we’ve got two more days. I’m just glad to be staying here, and I don’t have to check out early.”

Hahn was the talk of the town, not just in Girona, but across the globe as players and the press alike congratulated the always genial American on his outstanding achievement via social media.

And when asked if his diet of the previous evening might inspire similar such cravings tonight, the idea certainly seemed to curry favour with the American, who said: “Absolutely, why not!”