Maximilian Steinlechner is looking to build on a career-changing two weeks when he tees it up in the German Challenge powered by VcG at Wittelsbacher Golfclub this week.
The Austrian climbed to the summit of the season-long Road to Mallorca Rankings for the first time last week after securing a maiden HotelPlanner Tour title on home soil in the Interwetten Open two weeks ago, before finishing tied second in the D+D REAL Czech Challenge last time out.
The 25-year-old is now in pole position to secure promotion to the DP World Tour, with the leading 20 players set to graduate at the end of the season, and says it’s nice to be in top spot through 16 events of the 29-event schedule.
“The goal of the year is to move up and get promoted and I’m in a really good position now to do that,” he said. “I like it. It’s a good feeling.
“There’s no real part in my game that feels off, so it’s been a good few weeks.
“It’s definitely a more comfortable position to be in, knowing that I have a lot of points already and that there are quite a few events still to play.
“I always knew my game was good enough to compete, but now actually having done it and seeing the results is a different thing. It just gives me a little bit of extra validation that I know I can compete which is positive.”
Steinlechner has a good track record at Wittelsbacher, having finished inside the top 30 in each of his two appearances to date.
The Road to Mallorca Number One is looking to use course knowledge to his advantage, with precision off the tee a key to success on the tree-lined test in Bavaria.
“I know the layout well and I’ve seen it in different conditions,” he added. “This is my third time playing this event, so I’m keeping it quite simple ahead of Thursday.
“If the fairways are firm and running, you have to be solid off the tee to make sure you have a shot in to the green, as you can be blocked off by the trees quite easily.
“This is a good course. Tee to green is important and then obviously, if you want to be up there on the leaderboard, you’ve got to make some putts. There really isn’t much tolerance off the tee though.”
Steinlechner is part of a strong field in Germany that includes Ryder Cup player Chris Wood, and DP World Tour winners Renato Paratore and Eddie Pepperell.
The opening round of the German Challenge powered by VcG gets under way tomorrow at 7:25am local time, with Steinlechner teeing off alongside home favourite Tiger Christensen and South African Jovan Rebula at 1:05pm.
