Santa Cruz do Sul is not the type of place typically associated with world-class golf.
A small town in the southern regions of Brazil, it thrives on tobacco. Lutz Hannemann moved his family from Rio de Janeiro to this town in 1985, when the tobacco company he worked for transferred him.
But because of the tobacco factories, this town was also populated with many Americans, Americans who played golf. There was a course near the Hannemann's home, but it went relatively unnoticed by five-year-old Candy Hannemann.
Hannemann was dedicated to gymnastics and tennis, but she never played golf. Golf's not a popular sport at all in Brazil. But her mother eventually picked up the game and played with Hannemann's older brother. Finally, at age nine, Candy started to play.
She was taught the sport by a caddy at Santa Cruz do Sul's golf course. Hannemann took to the sport quickly and began playing on a daily basis. It was apparent pretty quickly that she had a talent.
"It wasn't something that was really tough for me," she explains. "I know when people first start, sometimes they struggle for a long time. But I got better really quickly. I just kept practicing because I really liked it, because I was better than all my friends. You know, you like it when you're better than all your friends."
Less than 10 years later, she's better than almost all of her friends. She is currently ranked No. 26 in the nation and her 75-stroke shot average is third best for top-ranked Duke. She's also recorded five top-20 finishes this season.
"I don't think Candy knows how good she really is," Hannemann's personal coach Ron Cerrudo said. "She can be really good. She's very athletic. You can't teach talent. Even though she's not a big girl, she's very strong. She can hit the ball a long way. She's just got a lot of talent."
Hannemann played in Santa Cruz do Sul with her caddy/mentor for a year when her father moved the family back to Rio de Janeiro. Back in a bigger city, she could compete in more tournaments, including some in the United States, where she first met many of her current teammates. By age 11, Hannemann was on the Brazilian national team.
"It's an amazing feeling," said Hannemann of playing for the national team. "It's something different. Obviously playing as an individual and winning individually is great, but when you win for your country, when you play for your country, it brings something out of you you didn't even know you have. It makes you want it so much more because it's not only you, it's your country."
Hannemann had two coaches in Rio de Janeiro, including Rafael Navarro. Hannemann trained with Navarro for a couple of years before it was time for her to move to the States. She had known since she was 13 that she wanted to compete at an American college, but Hannemann decided she would go to the U.S. before then.
She went to Florida in 1997 to train at a golf academy, but that only hurt her game. The academy's emphasis on mechanics took the fun out of golf for her, and it was apparent on the scorecard.
"They emphasize a lot in practice and hitting balls, and I really like to go out and play and have fun," Hannemann said. "It was too mechanical. They were trying to make golf mechanical and work. It shouldn't be that way.... It should be a joy to be out there. It wasn't any more. It was becoming work. It was becoming a routine."
Struggling with the game she once loved and having troubles with confidence, Hannemann remembered the name of Ron Cerrudo. In 1996, while playing in a tournament in Hilton Head, S.C., Hannemann stayed for a few weeks with a golfing friend. Hannemann's friend was coached by Cerrudo, and during the course of her visit, Hannemann took a lesson with him.
"I left [Hilton Head] and I won the next tournament," Hannemann said. "So yeah, it worked from the beginning.... His family was unbelievable. I called him, told him I was very unhappy [in Florida] because of my golf. He was like, 'Come up.' He never had a doubt, never hesitated."
And while the purpose of Hannemann's trip was training, the time with Cerrudo became much more valuable than just an improved golf swing. Cerrudo and Hannemann developed a strong relationship, and they still talk about once a week.
"She's a terrific kid," Cerrudo said. "She became a part of our family, and that really helped her. She had somebody to lean on when she had trouble. [In Florida], she was locked into a system. Candy lost her confidence and they started telling her she's a mental case. First we got her physically right, her fundamentals became very secure, then you're just talking to her, trying to get her to believe that she's good."
Hannemann spent the next five months in Hilton Head living with Cerrudo's family. The two of them worked on some mechanical things and ironed out a few kinks in Hannemann's back swing, but the most important change was mental.
"Golf was fun again," Hannemann said. "We have an unbelievable relationship. He's a really good coach and we're really good friends. He's played on the tour, so he knows what it's like to struggle sometimes and when you do well and what situation you're in, pressure, and all that."
The improvements came right away at Hannemann's first collegiate tournament. She won the Lady Tar Heel Invitational, shooting a four-under-par.
"It was a lot of fun," Hannemann said. "It was great; it gave me confidence because I had been struggling for a few months and then I came in and played well. It showed me I can do it."
And as a freshman starter on the nation's top team, she has shown no indication to the contrary. She has helped Duke to a school-record six tournament titles, and this weekend Hannemann will try to help the Blue Devils capture their fourth straight ACC title in Greensboro. But for Hannemann and Duke, there's something bigger on the horizon-a chance at the national championship.
Not bad for someone who began in a small, inconspicuous town named Santa Cruz do Sul.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.