Lindell achieved the best result of his career with fifth place! "It was great to lead the race for the first time in ten years."
Oliver Lindell was in contention for the win on the final day in Qatar for the first time in almost ten years. He finished a brilliant week with the best result of his career (T5) on the DP World Tour, challenging the winner Patrick Reed for the first time for the victory in a tour event.
The Finn took the lead in the competition on his own at the end of the front nine. Lindell made an impressive six birdies on the front nine. Added to that, two bogeys resulted in a front nine score of 32 strokes. The final round was considerably more difficult, and a round score of 70 (-2) ultimately earned him a share of fifth place with a total score of -12.
“It was a great game with the lead, and on top of that, the putt went well. Four lip-outs (putts that rolled through the hole) ate into my score, so I had a chance to win. The three-putt greens on holes 12 and 13 ate into my score a bit, especially since I knew hole 15 would be challenging from last year. I hit my tee shot into the desert, which left me with a tempting opportunity to attack. I don’t know where the ball hit before it bounced and ended up in the water.”
“I managed to play the last three holes one under par, which kept my score together. It was great to be at the top of the competition after a break of almost ten years. After the fourth hole, I sensed that I was leading the competition, and after the ninth hole, I saw it on the scoreboard. It was cool to be in that situation, and my thoughts didn’t wander, but stayed focused on the next shot. You learn from these things, and next time we’ll be even hungrier,” said Lindell, reflecting on the best week of his career.
Lindell hit the ball brilliantly, and apart from one shot, there was no sign of the tightest spot in his career in the strokes of this good ball hitter. He made only one clear mistake from the tee and a few opening shots that were slightly off target. The missed opening shot on the 15th hole was even more costly, as the second shot apparently ended up in the water after hitting a rock.
“Yes, driving under pressure can be awful at times when you know you have to succeed. I had one bad tee shot on the only hole where you can’t afford to make a mistake here.”
Lindell only missed two greens, one of which he sank beautifully with a putter from the fore green. The scorecard showed that the players were serious about winning, with only five par scores. The critical difference ultimately came on the greens, when a few shorter putts rolled out of the hole.
“I didn’t think there was anything wrong with those putts, except for the one on the tenth fairway. In other cases, there was a bit too much momentum, and they rolled out over the left edge of the cup.”
Instead of sharing fifth place, he racked up a nice haul of points in the Race to Dubai rankings, which lifts the Porvoo native to an impressive 18th place in the tour rankings.
Patrick Reed, who has been playing brilliantly all season, took another victory in Qatar with a score of -16. He fell just short of a rare three-win streak, losing in a playoff last week.