Julien Quesne and Tomás Bessa share a one-stroke lead after the opening day of the German Challenge powered by VcG at Wittelsbacher Golfclub.
Quesne and Bessa carded seven under par rounds of 65 to lead by one from five others who share third, including Englishman Tom Lewis, Frenchman Robin Sciot-Siegrist, Gabriel Morgan from Chile, Swiss Benjamin Rusch and Road to Mallorca Number One, Maximilian Steinlechner from Austria.
Quesne, a two-time DP World Tour winner, started his day on the tenth and eagled the par five 15th to make the turn two under par.
The Frenchman added four birdies in a five-hole stretch from the first, and despite making his only bogey of the day on the sixth, added two more gains coming in to set the clubhouse target.
The 44-year-old has recorded two top 25 finishes in his two outings so far this season and was pleased to get off to a fast start with his son by his side.
“I’m quite happy with the score because this course is tough,” he said. “I played steady and holed putts, that was it.
“I’ve got my son who is 12 on the bag this week for the first time, so I think that helped. I’m very proud of him and hopefully he has seen me play very well today.
“I’ve been a professional since 2003, so I had some good years on the DP World Tour and I’m still fighting. I enjoy playing in competition and so I’m happy to compete again after having three surgeries on my lower back. I’m playing more now and I’m playing really well.”
Bessa got his week off to the perfect start by joining Quesne at the top thanks to eight birdies and a solitary bogey.
The Portuguese made a fast start by opening with three birdies in his first four holes, and added a fourth gain of the day on the seventh. His only dropped shot of the day came at the eighth as he made the turn three under par.
The 28-year-old then added four back-nine birdies at the 11th, 12th, 15th and 16th to move to seven under par for the day.
Bessa, who is playing on an invite in Bavaria this week, is hoping to continue with the same approach over the next three days as he looks to make the most of just his second start on the 2025 Road to Mallorca.
“It’s crucial that with these invites, you go all out and hopefully you can play your best golf during those four days,” he said. “I’m looking forward to trying to do that over the next three days now.
“It’s a very demanding course off the tee and you’ve got to place the ball really well. All the areas of your game need to be sharp, so I’m happy with the round.
“It’s a course that gets you to think a lot off the tee, and I did a good job thankfully.
“I had a couple of good breaks when I didn’t hit the perfect shot which allowed me to save a few pars, and it kept the round going.”
Five players sit two shots off the lead in a share of eighth, including South African duo Bryce Easton and JC Ritchie, Englishmen Joshua Berry and Bradley Bawden, and Italian Filippo Celli.
Round two of the German Challenge powered by VcG gets under way tomorrow at 7:25am with Quesne teeing off at 1:40pm and Bessa at 1:45pm.
