Lindell finished sixth in the top competition! – "The starting point is to keep the game together for two more days."
Oliver Lindell improved his opening round score by one stroke in the second round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on Friday. This gives him the best starting position of his career for the weekend rounds. Considering that this is an extremely competitive Rolex series tournament, the Finn has every reason to be pleased with his first two rounds.
Lindell shot a 69 (-3) in today’s round, and his total score of -5 lifted him to an impressive T6 position. Behind this outstanding performance lies simply a brilliant game plan and rock-solid putting. He only attacks the flag when it makes sense to do so, and he has skilfully avoided the challenging areas of the course.
“The game plan has been followed and there have been plenty of greens in regulation. My tee shots have been relatively good, and my putting has been excellent, even though I missed a few today. Apart from those, I sank all the putts I was supposed to and a few more from further away,” Lindell said with satisfaction.
Lindell scored eight birdies on Friday, which is a sufficient number, but challenging roughs can quickly cost strokes, as hole number 1 on the course demonstrated today. Until then, his play had been flawless, with three birdies and not a single bogey on the front nine starting on the 10th hole. The Porvoo native once again managed an excellent 16/18 on the greens.
“If you don’t putt well here, you won’t be able to make birdies except on par-5s. There are a few tees that don’t suit my eye, especially when the wind is blowing from left to right. Doglegs that turn to the left are also difficult.”
Conditions were expected to improve, but this was not the case. As the greens hardened and the wind picked up in the afternoon, scores remained low on Friday as well.
During the back nine (holes 1-9), the greens hardened, which significantly sped them up. This made the game considerably more difficult, as some of the flag positions were in completely incomprehensible places. Still, if the next 27 holes are avoided as well as bogeys, it will open up opportunities for Sunday’s Takaysi. Nothing needs to be changed as such. The starting point is that the game will remain intact for another two days.”
TV cameras also managed to spot Finnish flags around Lindell’s group. This lifted the Finnish player’s spirits, and he hopes that the audience will also find their way to the sidelines this weekend.
The faster pace of play on Saturday, when the teams switch to two-player groups, also suits Lindell, who likes to play at a fast tempo. The referees have had to time Lindell’s group due to the slow pace of play of his teammates. However, this has not been reflected in his own performance, although he admits that slow rounds can be difficult.
The 2018 Masters winner Patrick Reed took the lead with a score of -9. Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood, among others, are far behind the Finn in the rankings.
Lindell will start his round on Saturday at 10:10 a.m. Finnish time with his western neighbour Mikael Lindberg.