His putting improved, but his finish was lacklustre – Lindell: “The course gave me a good feeling at the end, so I’d come back again”
Oliver Lindell’s performance left him with little to say about the Irish Open. His score on the final day was his third round of 70 in the tournament, resulting in a total score of +2. He will finish in a tie for 55th place. The most memorable moment of the week is likely to be Donald Trump’s visit to the course he owns, and in particular the security measures it entailed and the extra commotion surrounding the tournament.
“It was quite a commotion and there were massive security measures in place this week. It didn’t affect our own game, and there was no need to suspend matches at those venues, for example.”
It often seems that the nature of golf involves those little successes that motivate you to keep coming back to the course time and time again. Trump International Golf Links also rewarded Lindell at the end of a tough tournament. His putter, which had been in a slump, showed signs of coming to life on Sunday, and he even sank a chip from off the green towards the end. Following a birdie on the 16th hole, he sank one of the longest putts of the week – a par-saving putt of around six metres on the 17th hole.
“The course really did try to put me in a good mood at the end, to encourage me to come back. Today I only missed one putt by a metre on the eighth hole. The highlight of the day, however, was when I chipped in on the 16th hole. The start was a bit of a struggle again; I couldn’t really get anything going,” Lindell chuckled.
His ball-striking was strong throughout the week, but there was one club that made this week a difficult one. Unfortunately, it was the most important one. After three days, the Finn had hit the ball at statistically the same level as Shane Lowry. The Irishman was an incredible 18 strokes clear at the top of the leaderboard. This gap was created on the greens.
“I was 6.04 strokes behind the leader on putting stats every round from Thursday to Saturday on the course. That’s how an 18-stroke gap quickly adds up.”
Lindell’s scorecard showed 11 bogeys during the tournament. It is worth noting that four of these came on the 13th hole, which was also the most difficult hole in the tournament. In other words, his score on that hole was five on every round, and that did not change on Sunday either.
“The 13th was an insurmountable hole this week – certainly one of the worst holes of the season. Both today and yesterday, I hit my drives into the middle of the fairway, where there’s a dreadful slope. Today it sent the ball into the bunker on the left, whereas yesterday it went into the rough on the right. It was definitely my least favourite hole on the course,” remarked Lindell.
“They were all similarly lacklustre rounds; I just couldn’t get anything going. We’ll give it another go next week. Today we’re travelling to England, and tomorrow we’ll carry on with our work there.”
The home favourite has turned the pressure into a source of strength, as Shane Lowry is marching towards a stunningly dominant victory in what is such a high-calibre competition. Lowry is now at -20, a full eight strokes ahead of Patrick Reed, having moved onto the back nine.