A hot week of competition ahead at one of the longest courses on the tour, on Hainan Island.
Oliver Lindell will have a quick opportunity to make up for last week's disappointment in Shanghai, as he faces another Chinese tournament – the Hainan Classic. There were encouraging signs in his swing during the final round of the previous tournament, and he has been working on his swing during the break.
"On Monday, we played the front nine, and on Tuesday, we played 18 holes early in the morning. We've made progress since last week, although you can't work miracles in just a few days. Today, I didn't feel like wasting my energy out there in the intense heat in the afternoon," Lindell reports.
The heat is certainly noticeable on Hainan Island, with the thermometer reaching 38 degrees today and the temperature feeling like over 40 degrees. Tomorrow, the temperature is expected to be 36 degrees around the time of the Porvoo native's tee time, so the hot weather will bring its own challenges to the week-long competition.
The tour has remained within the same country, but there have been changes to the environment and the course. The course is marked on the scorecard as over 7,000 metres long, making it one of the longest courses on the tour. This has not deterred the Finns.
"The course doesn't feel particularly long. A few holes were played from the front tees, but there is one long par 5 hole on the back nine (hole 13 – 623 metres). The practice rounds are mainly about getting to know the new environment, which varies quite a lot here from week to week. This week, we can expect softer greens and more influence from the direction of grass growth. Thunderstorms are also forecast for the end of the week," said Lindell about the week's venue.
The Blackstone Course in Hainan is hosting a DP World Tour event for the first time. The island of Hainan has, of course, hosted HotelPlanner Tour events, among others, which Lindell has fond memories of. If you have been wondering why the tournament is missing from the TV and streaming service schedules, the reason is clear.
"It's a strange tournament this week, as there are no cameras here to film the competition. It's difficult to assess the level of performance, but the assumption is that the results here will be better than last week, precisely because of the softer greens," Lindell explained.
In addition to Lindell, Tapio Pulkkanen, who played a top game last week, will also be competing. Oliver Lindell's tee time for Thursday's round is 8:00 a.m. Finnish time. Playing in the same group are Yihao Fu of China and Joakim Lagergren of Sweden.