Lindell capitalised on his par-5s and kept bogeys at bay – “It gives me confidence heading into the weekend”
Oliver Lindell kept his card bogey-free on the second round of the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, carding a 67 (-5). This significant improvement in his game has also seen him climb sharply up the leaderboard. The Finnish player has moved up to T27, whilst most of the players who were ahead of him after the opening day are still out on the course. Four of his five birdies of the day came on par-5 holes.
The improvement was down in particular to a more accurate tee shot. After a few weaker shots at the start, he found his rhythm, and, above all, his missed tee shots were on the familiar side. Lindell racked up as many fairway hits on the front nine alone as he had in the entire opening round. He also made just two mistakes on the back nine.
“A few of my tee shots went a bit off course, but for the most part my misses were to the right, which made playing easier. My putting was strong today. There was one spot where I could have made a bogey today (hole 12). Otherwise, I hit the greens consistently and had chances to go for birdies.”
The positive trend of the day was reflected in the fact that the player from Porvoo was consistently closer to a birdie than to a bogey. The only near-miss came on the 12th hole, following an opening shot that had bounced into a bush. There were no magical putts in the round, but all the putts that were within the realm of possibility went in, and the par-saving putt on the 12th hole in particular was a fine strike.
This success was, of course, important for the opening race of the current final stage, but it also gives us a huge boost of confidence ahead of next week’s competition in Dubai. There’s an even bigger points haul on offer there than this week, and next season’s fate will be sealed then.
“Today’s round was a good bounce-back to the competition. It was a relief to have succeeded, and it gives me confidence heading into this weekend,” Lindell summed up, looking pleased.
Tyrrell Hatton (-13) has risen to the top of the leaderboard, having carded no fewer than eight birdies in 13 holes. Unsurprisingly, the best score among those who have finished their rounds came from Rory McIlroy, who has bounced back from yesterday’s two-stroke penalty. The Northern Irishman carded a 63, despite two bogeys in his round.