Lindell capped off his bogey-free round of the day with an eagle – “A strong performance; tomorrow I’ll be chasing my best finish of the season”
Just as in the previous tournament, Oliver Lindell made a spectacular climb up the leaderboard on Saturday, carding a 65 (-6). He capped off his superb round with an eagle on the 17th hole, where his chip from the edge of the green dropped straight into the cup.
Earlier, on holes 5 and 11, Lindell had the chance to go for an eagle with his putter. On the fifth, he had a five-metre eagle putt, but it didn’t go in. His tee shot on the 11th found the green of the par-4 hole, but he had to settle for an easy birdie when the putt rolled out of the cup.
“Luckily, I managed to sink a chip from in front of the green on the 17th hole, which was a nice way to finish off a good round. I hit two mini-drivers that left me right on the edge of the green. On the 11th, I hit a drive right into the middle of the green, although the live tracking incorrectly shows my playing partner’s shot. However, a good 10-metre eagle putt rolled just past.”
Lindell’s round was solid overall, with not a single bogey on his card and four birdies in addition to an eagle. He could have sunk more than three birdies on the front nine, as, in his own words, he struggled to sink his putts despite playing a superb round.
“It was a strong performance overall. I came close to a bogey on the fourth hole when a slightly hot 4-iron went behind a tree; I tried to hit a hook onto the green, but the ball didn’t turn out of the rough at all. Luckily, I sank the longest putt of the day there. I putted well, but often faced difficult lines and the putts didn’t go in,” said Lindell.
The Porvoo native has been on an upward trajectory throughout the tournament, and with this form, a top-five finish is still within reach. Lindell, currently tied for tenth place, is on -11, two strokes off fifth place, whilst the gap to the leader stands at five strokes with the round still in progress.
“The first two days were pretty rough, but today I found a bit of a rhythm in my swing and hit the ball really well. Tomorrow I’ll be back in the hunt for my best finish of the season.”
South Africa’s Zander Lombart (-16), who finished ten holes on Saturday, is leading the competition.