Spanish aye from Hanson family

Hanson has long since dreamed of playing in the event that on these shores ranks beneath only the Open in terms of prestige.

Now he gets the chance to compete alongside his peers for the title, and on a course that has become so well known through years of staging, first, the world match play championship and then the PGA.

Correction: the club is well known, the actual course not so much as it has been transformed in recent years.

This, Hanson hopes, will mean that he will not be at a severe disadvantage compared to those players who have regularly headed to Virginia Water, in Surrey, come May each year.

“I’ve not played in the PGA before and I’ve not played Wentworth before, but there have been some massive changes so it will be the same for everyone,” said Hanson, who endured a nervous wait before having his participation confirmed.

“I got in by about six places,” he said. “I was a little apprehensive that I might not get into it, but I did, so that’s fine.

“It’s our flagship event and I watched it as a youngster, so it’s exciting to be playing in it and I’m looking forward to it massively.”

After narrowly retaining his card by being just the right side of ‘the bubble’ in the Order of Merit at the end of the 2015-16 season, Hanson has pushed on impressively in year two.

Last campaign he earned €253,255 to place 108th among the 111 players handed cards.

Already this season he has €189,250 to find himself sandwiched in 63rd place in the current Race to Dubai standings by European Tour title winners in Francesco Molinari and Andrew Sullivan.

He has almost 10 times the money he had banked by the equivalent stage a year ago, but in a move that shows he will not bow to complacency nor allow his ambitions to be restricted, he and his family – wife Laura and daughters Jessica, five, and Olivia, two – are now living in Spain.

He and Laura hope the girls will benefit from a sunshine imbued outdoors lifestyle while their father looks to push his golf game to a new level thanks to the ability to practise in good weather throughout the year.

“We wanted to do it as a family,” said Hanson. “The kids will have an outdoor, active life and there’s a really good English school.

“For me, it will obviously be great in the winter for practice. During winter last year in England we had a few nice days, but the grass is still poor and the greens are still poor.

“Out here, even when you have a bit of rain the grass is still perfect, the greens are still perfect, and you are still chipping off decent grass.

“I have to give myself the best chance to be my best and it’s a step forward. We’ll review it after a year to see if it’s working.”

In past years, Woodsome Hall have allowed Hanson to stage an annual golf day to raise money that helped fund his attempt to become a card-carrying member of the European Tour.

In a gesture that says much about both his gratefulness for past support and a caring disposition, the event this year – to be held on August 4 – will be used by Hanson to raise money for twin recipients, Breast Cancer Now and British Inclusive Golf, the latter a group who aim to bring disabled and non-disabled people together on the golf course through a variety of initiatives.

“The planning’s going very well, and ticket sales too,” said Hanson. “We’re looking forward to it. It will be nice to be able to give something back.”

The BMW PGA Championship will be Justin Rose’s first event in Britain since he took Olympic gold. He attended the event as a teenage spectator and has twice come close to winning it, losing a play-off to Anders Hansen in 2007 and finishing joint second in 2012. The 36-year-old would love to add a victory at Wentworth to a CV that includes the 2013 US Open, four Ryder Cup appearances and that historic triumph in Rio.

“It’s a tournament I really enjoy,” said Rose. “It would be kind of a full-circle moment for me if I was to win here because there’s a lot of kids behind the 18th green looking for golf balls and gloves and I was one of those kids a long time ago.”

For details of Chris Hanson’s Summer Charity Ball, to be staged at The Venue, Barkisland, on August 4 go to www.chrishansongolf.com.