Lindell fired eight birdies – just one stroke shy of the course record
Oliver Lindell played a superb round on Saturday at the Belgian Soudal Open. He rose to share second place at the finish with a score of -8, while the last players have only just started their round. However, a round score of 65 (-6) may be enough to finish high at the end of the day, as the weather in Antwerp is challenging. The result should be enough to keep him in at least the top 10.
"It was a good day today, considering that the weather was the most difficult of the week. From the 13th hole onwards, the weather started to get really challenging, but the huge advantage was the start time compared to the leaders."
Lindell was lucky with his tee time, as the heavy rain only started on the 13th hole. Considering the conditions, however, the round was an even stronger performance. Despite his good result, the Finnish player did not get carried away, as he was aware of his chances. Of course, the top result required "a few bonuses".
Saturday's round started off on a completely different note, with the first birdie opportunity opening up on the very first hole. After that, almost every hole turned into a birdie opportunity.
"A few bonuses (putts) went in from longer distances. Conversely, there were a couple of three-putt greens, but overall it was a strong performance. I hit 15 greens in regulation, chipped in one of the missed greens, and added two pars," Lindell said of his top round.
The greens in regulation are naturally also a result of a confident opening game. The Porvoo native had 11/15 fairway hits on the par 71 course today. Only one drive strayed to the right into the woods, but Lindell fought back from a par five to a par on the card. The only bogeys were the result of three-putt greens.
"A long birdie on the 10th hole immediately turned the situation back on track after an unnecessary three-putt bogey on the 9th hole. Good short game produced that result today, and even on those three-putt greens, the first putt could well have gone in, but both were just a little too hard," Lindell summed up.
The Finnish player will finally get to fight for the top spots on the last day without having to perform miracles. A similar situation occurred once before in his DPWT career in Australia six months ago, when Lindell started the final round in the top 5.
"Now let's just hope that the round is played to the end today and there are no interruptions. The conditions are so harsh that it won't be easy there in the afternoon. We'll have to see how the situation develops, but there's nothing else to do but continue in the same way tomorrow."
Ewen Ferguson, who is leading the competition, is at -12 after playing five holes.