Lindell even produced his best performance of the season – a bogey-free round on a gruelling course means a move up the leaderboard
Oliver Lindell produced a dazzling performance on his third round in India. The Finn carded a bogey-free -4 score and climbed a remarkable 37 places up the leaderboard. He was only the second player in the entire tournament to complete the notoriously tricky Delhi course without a single bogey.
A week that got off to a difficult start has taken a complete turn, and the Finn is suddenly back in contention for the top spots. The reason behind this dramatic rise was his top-class ball striking.
“It was one of the best rounds of the season. I missed just one fairway and two greens all day. One of those was on the course’s toughest hole, when I hit a hybrid from 250 metres right into the centre of the green and the ball rolled right past it. The other missed green shot ended up in the water with an 4-iron (par 5), but I managed to save par with an up-and-down from there too.”
A total score of -1 is enough to secure 13th place, and he is now just one stroke away from a top-10 finish. Third place, on the other hand, is only four strokes away, which on this nerve-wracking course is effectively just a couple of minor mistakes. There is plenty left to play for in the final round. Lindell has shown tremendous mental strength to claw his way from around 100th place to within striking distance of the top 10. The challenging course also plays into his hands.
“There were loads of opportunities from 3–6 metres out, so if I’d been on top form, I could have shot as low as 8 under par. The conditions were easy, but the pin positions, on the other hand, were really tricky. This is the sort of week where it’s probably easiest of all to climb high from the cut line. The course is so challenging that if you play well yourself, you’ll be up against players who are ahead of you,” said Lindell.
At the top of the leaderboard is defending champion Eugenio Chacarra (-10), who has posted consistent scores over three rounds.