Lindell delivered a stellar performance – his first top 10 finish in his DPWT career!
Oliver Lindell set out to achieve his best round of the week on the final day, and he certainly succeeded. He climbed twenty places in the rankings, and his round of 66 strokes gave him a total score of -7, which earned him his best career ranking of T10. This is the Finnish player's first top 10 finish on the main tour.
"I'm left with a really good feeling about the tournament. On the last hole, on my fourth shot (par 5), I hit a semi-rough shot that lifted two metres in the air and then rolled right into the middle of the hole for a dream finish. It was a great day overall. On the fifth and 15th holes, I hit my irons into impossible spots, which resulted in bogeys on my card. The week improved day by day, and my putting was really solid," said a cheerful Lindell.
The Virvik native racked up five birdies on the back nine, bringing his final round birdie total to seven. In addition to these, three bogeys meant a round score of -4. Behind the good round was a familiar story from this week: confident tee shots and good putting.
If there has been any doubt so far as to whether Lindell belongs on the main tour or whether the Porvoo native will one day compete for the championship, this week proved beyond a doubt that he definitely belongs and that winning the championship is no longer a dream but a goal. Lindell himself was not particularly satisfied with his rounds during the first three days, so even better results are to be expected when every aspect of his game clicks into place in the same competition.
"Even though my iron play wasn't at its best, I was good enough off the tee throughout the competition. I was really strong from under 100 metres, and my putting was at a good level. The fact is that if you want to do well here, it all comes down to putting. It has now been proven that my game belongs here. Now I'm just looking ahead to Tuesday, when the final qualifying round for The Open is coming up."
On Tuesday, Lindell will participate in the two-round final qualifying round for The Open at the West Lancashire Golf Club. The top five players from that course will qualify for The Open in July. Lindell will compete on the same course alongside Alex Hietala, who made it through to the final qualifying round via the first stage. They will have a joint practice round tomorrow, Monday.
The competition for the title will be between two French players, with Adrien Saddier (-14) leading the competition by three strokes ahead of Martin Couvra. Tapio Pulkkanen finished in T57th place with a score of +2.