Hanna Tauber is in the driver’s seat of the Ladies German Challenge powered by VcG after firing an opening round six-under 66 at Golf-Club Bergisch Land.
The 21-year-old German, who grew up in the nearby town of Castrop Rauxel, about a 45-minute drive away from Wuppertal, was boosted by the presence of her mother caddying for her this week.
Tauber leads the duo of Netherlands’ Zhen Bontan (68), who entered the field as a reserve, and Switzerland’s Anais Maggetti (68) by two strokes.
Three other players — Order of Merit leader Lauren Holmey, German amateur Susanna Brenske and Sweden’s Moa Svedenskiold — are a further shot back at three-under 67.
“My mom was on the bag, so I just felt comfortable,” Tauber said. “I felt like that was a very big part. When I was a junior and you were allowed to have a caddy, usually my mom would go.
“She does not know very much about golf. She can say good shot if it is like two metres next to the pin. She would be excited if it’s like just on the green and she’s like very calm.
“Whenever I’m a little worked up for maybe a bad shot, and she would just be there and not say, ‘Oh, it’s not that bad,’ because that just enrages me more. She just knows how to handle when I’m a little worked up.”
In familiar territory, Tauber got off to the best possible start with five birdies on the front nine to go out with a blistering five-under 30.
She said: “It was just pretty solid iron striking and great putting, so since the putter was quite hot, it helped. To be honest, I was more afraid of the front nine than the back nine.
“With holes five, six and seven, the shots into the green are very tough. So, for me that’s like Amen Corner for me basically. I just felt comfortable going for it being in the moment.”
“It’s so nice to be playing at home, because there’s a couple of friends coming over to watch me play. My cousin walked with me the whole 18 (holes) today.
“Ever since I told him there’s a tournament just more or less around the corner, he said, ‘Okay, I’ll be there.’ And I can sleep at home, so that’s an advantage, like on your own bed is always very, very nice.”
After finishing T-17th playing with rental clubs at last week’s Czech Ladies Challenge, Tauber was finally reunited with her own clubs this week.
“They were still in France from the week before,” she said. “So, in Czechia I had to grab a whole set of clubs in 12 hours and now I’m back to my own. That’s a big positive change because you just know how to react if a bad shot happens.”
Starting her back nine with three straight pars, Tauber then missed her par putt at the 13th hole and shouted out in frustration.
“I hit it into the left rough, and then I pitched it out, and I actually was quite happy that it made it onto the fringe,” she said. “Then I hit it a little too long and when I hit my (par) putt, it jumped maybe three inches after it started.
“So that’s why I was short, and I was very worked up. You can ask my mom, but no, it’s alright though. It’s just one bogey, it’s fine. She just said, ‘just walk, just go, don’t worry about it, you’ll make it back.
“Sometimes it’s just not saying anything and just let me be. A little bit of rage helps me because I get the steam out and then it’s out of the system and I’m fine again. Ball’s already in the hole, gotta accept it and move on.”
Tauber did exactly that by making back-to-back birdies on holes 15 and 16 to climb back on top of the leaderboard before finishing with two pars.
Hot on Tauber’s heels is Netherlands’ Bontan, who entered the tournament as a reserve.
“This year I focus more on other things in life,” she said. “I don’t have any status on the Access Series. For me, because I didn’t play that well over the last couple of months, there’s nothing to play for so I can play freely.
“I really like to do other sports, so I have some goals like to run a marathon, do Hyrox and stuff you normally can’t do in a season. Last weekend, I ran a five-and-a-half km trail run and I came on the podium which was quite nice.
“Maybe I’ll have a run here after the round, even in this hot weather. In October, I will run a marathon in Eindhoven so I’m fairly looking forward to that.”
In her hometown of Leersum, Bontan, who is an avid runner, finished on the top step of the podium in the Uilentorenloop race.
It helped her to keep a calm mind under the scorching hot sun on Friday in Wuppertal, mixing eight birdies with four bogeys in a rollercoaster round.
Bontan added: “My mindset is just to have fun out there. For me, it’s quite nice if I get in the Top 10 this week because then there’s a possibility to play more events.”
Swiss amateur Romaine Masserey (72) recorded her first career albatross on the par-5 13th hole, holing out from the rough with her hybrid.
She said: “I had like 175m to the pin from the rough and I hit my hybrid. It landed just in the front of the green, and then it hit the pin and it got in. I’m so happy and it switched my game on for the last holes.”
Round 2 resumes tomorrow with the first flight teeing off at 8am local time. The top 45 players and ties will return to compete for the trophy on Sunday.
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