Lindell finishes strongly in a tough competition – thin air caused headaches throughout the race
The Finn played strongly, especially off the tee, narrowly missing a few fairways. The front nine, which started on the back nine, included one birdie and one bogey. The round ended on a high note with the last birdies of the day on holes 6 and 9. The stumbling blocks of the day were largely the same as before. Overall, both the result and the game took a leap for the better.
“It was a good day for the final round. It feels like I missed too many short putts again. In addition to putting, the thin air has been a challenge here. I keep hitting good shots right at the flag, but they just don’t seem to land where I want them to. I couldn’t quite get the hang of getting the ball to curve the same way off the fairway repeatedly. Now it was flying too high, so we went over the flag,” Lindell said.
The week wasn’t quite what we had hoped for at the start of the new season. However, qualification for the competition was so tight that it wasn’t confirmed until Monday of the competition week. In a way, everything was down to ranking points and prize money of just over €30,000. Experiences ranging from very different conditions, from the climate to the grain of the greens, will help, among other things, with next year’s finals in mind.
“Next week, we will continue with similar challenges in Johannesburg. The ball will fly in the same way there too. I have not played at the Royal Johannesburg course before, but I understand that the greens are quite similar.”
Kristoffer Reitan, who started the day in the commanding lead, almost made the competition exciting. Compared to previous days, the Norwegian, who “only” played par, ended up winning the competition by a single stroke. At the same time, however, he did exactly what was required of him.