Lindell: "A tough day – I was completely clueless about how the ball would fly."
Oliver Lindell's start at BMW International in Munich was eventful, and the Finn shares 115th place with a score of +2. Before the last five holes, he was five strokes over par, but three birdies on the last five holes kept his hopes alive.
Lindell uncharacteristically missed a few approach shots, and a few weaker chip shots also cost him quite a bit in terms of his score.
"I was really out of it for the first 13 holes in terms of how the ball flies here. We are 400 metres above sea level, so the ball flies much further here, and I didn't get the hang of it until the end. I also had a really bad drive on the third hole. There were a lot of back pins today, which were difficult to save par on when you missed long," Lindell said disappointedly.
Preparation for the tournament was not optimal, as Lindell travelled to Germany on Wednesday morning from The Open qualifiers, where the Finn sensationally secured a place in the major tournament. He missed the practice round, which inevitably showed in the opening round. However, Lindell himself was optimistic that his streak of making the cut could well continue with a little adjustment tomorrow.
"It was a really tough day, as I hit a lot of good approach shots that went way over the flag. A good fight to the end, and I'm confident about tomorrow and that I'll still make it through to the weekend. A practice round would certainly have helped with my shot measurement. I'm hopeful about my short game and putting, which were at a good level – it was just that the spots I hit today were difficult."
The top of the competition was set by five players with a score of -5. Another Finnish player, Tapio Pulkkanen, played better than Lindell and is in 94th place with a score of +1.
Lindell will start his second round at 9:10 a.m. Finnish time.