Germany’s Hanna Tauber holds a one-shot lead at the 36-hole mark after recording back-to-back rounds of 69 (-1) at the Allegria Stegersbach Ladies Open.
On a windier day on the Sudburgenland at Allegria Golf Resort, Tauber climbed to the top of the leaderboard after her second consecutive round of one-under.
The 21-year-old dropped a shot on the second but then rolled in three birdies in four holes around the turn.
She made a double bogey on 12 but bounced back with birdies on holes 14 and 15 before another bogey at the last to lead with a total of two-under-par.
“Today was just a lot of hitting fairways and hitting greens, especially on the par-5s because you could reach them,” said Tauber. “I hit some pretty amazing shots into par-5s, so that gave me an advantage there.
“Other than that, it was really about hitting the fairways and greens and making a two-putt. Some of the pins were pretty tough, so you would take a two-putt and run. On 14, I hit a great drive and then I smashed my 5-wood to seven [metres] to the pin and just missed my eagle putt. That was the shot that stood out the most.
“Tomorrow, I want to pretty much stay cool because the course is going to throw it at you. I’m not sure what the pins will be tomorrow, we will see what tomorrow holds and just stay cool.”
Four players are in a share of second place just one shot back with Austria’s Johanna Ebner, amateur Alisa Molokanova, Germany’s Chiara Horder and Iceland’s Ragga Kristinsdottir all on one-under-par.
Ebner, who is the top Austrian after two rounds, carded a round of 72 (+2) on day two which included three birdies and five bogeys.
“Overall, it was not as solid as yesterday,” said Ebner. “On the first few holes, I really struggled with my long game. I didn’t hit a lot of fairways, I struggled to hit greens and made a three-putt when I did hit the green.
“It was really rough out there, I was really trying to reset and say, ‘that’s enough of those bogeys, you’ve got it, hit hard and don’t think too much’. I felt a little bit better with my first birdie on nine and my putter was good too and then on the back nine, I was trying to make some birdies because I knew they were out there because I really wanted to come back.
“I was three-over after six holes and wanted to be under-par. On hole 17 and 18, I barely missed two birdie putts which was a little bit unlucky. It was a fight, but overall, I’m really happy about how I stayed calm and hit the reset button after hole six.
“I want to win this week, especially because we’re in Austria and I feel my game is good enough to win right now. I’m going to hit the range, work on some things and leave the range with a good feeling. I know I can go low tomorrow and give myself the best chance to be in a good position.”
Iceland’s Kristinsdottir followed up her opening round of 68 (-2) with a 71 (+1), which included 16 pars, one birdie and one double bogey.
“It was extremely boring,” said Kristinsdottir. “It was the best iron game I’ve had in a long time, but I just didn’t make any putts. I always left myself on the wrong side of the hole. I will take it. I made a few mistakes off the tee and managed to bounce back and hit a good iron shot always.
“Tomorrow I will have the same mindset as the past few days. If I hit it as well as I hit it today, I will give myself plenty of chances to be up there coming in. I need to fine-tune my drive a little bit.
“The young girls coming up are good, but with age comes wisdom. I have my boyfriend on the bag. He keeps me cool and tells me to forget about things pretty quickly, hopefully the same tomorrow.”
Seven players are one shot further back at level par meaning there are 12 players within two shots heading into the final round in Austria.
One highlight of the day was Sweden’s Sofia Tjader, who made an ace on the par-3 12th hole, hitting her 5-iron to 153m.
The cut fell at +6 with 56 players making it through to the final day of action at Allegria Golf Resort. Round three will begin at 7.20 am (local time) with the leaders teeing it up at 10.36 am.
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