Everything is still to play for ahead of the season-closing final round – Lindell: “Tomorrow we’ll need our best round of the season”
Oliver Lindell significantly improved his all-round game for the third round of the Dubai Finals. His round score was three strokes better than on Friday, and his round of 71 (-1) for the day puts him at -1 overall. This puts him in a tie for 20th place in the tournament. Friday’s dream finish was largely the reason why Lindell’s Saturday round was, on paper, only three strokes better.
“I putted everything from within two metres into the hole, and there were loads of them today. Then again, I didn’t sink any putts from four to five metres. With longer putts, it’s really challenging to get a feel for the distance here. I struggled a bit off the tee, but I fought hard to put together a decent score,” said Lindell.
The challenge of longer putts on Jumeirah’s Earth course lies particularly in the grain of the grass – that is, the direction in which it grows. The direction of growth varies, and this largely determines how fast a putt actually is. Add to that some subtle ‘hidden slopes’ and strong winds, and putting this week is proving challenging. The condition of the greens this year is also the poorest it has been in the finals for several years.
Lindell hit the fairway from the tee with 50 per cent accuracy, but, unusually, made all his birdies from the rough, with the exception of the sixth hole (par 3). His fairway hits did not correlate with his success. All three of his bogeys that day, on the other hand, came from bunkers. However, a superb birdie on the final hole turned his round into a score under par. The Porvoo native nailed his 2-iron onto the green and made a two-putt birdie to round off the day.
Looking at the real-time rankings is pointless in itself, as every single hole can swing the situation one way or the other. The points for the final tournament are, of course, the largest of the season, so everything will only be decided on Sunday at the end of the day. Lindell was keen to take the pressure off himself, as after three rounds he is just outside the positions that qualify for a PGA Tour card. He knows that a top performance will be required on Sunday.
“It’s a good situation in that we’ve got nothing to lose tomorrow. We’ll need our best round of the season. The most important technical aspect is to keep a more consistent rhythm with the long clubs. We could also do with some good bounces, as we haven’t had many of those this week.”
England’s Tyrrell Hatton took sole lead in the tournament with a score of -9. Eugenio Chacarra and Rory McIlroy, who are battling it out for the top spot in the rankings, are tied for fourth place in the tournament. With these positions, Spain’s Chacarra would claim the ranking victory.