Lindell fought his way to the top of the leaderboard with a “mediocre round” – “I putted well, so this result was practically a given”
Oliver Lindell got off to a strong start at the Austrian Alpine Open with a score of 66 (-4). The result was largely in keeping with what the course had to offer on Thursday. His ball-striking was by no means top-class, but his putting, on the other hand, was in excellent form. In his own words, a “mediocre round” is enough to share 16th place, with the afternoon starters halfway through their rounds. He is just two strokes off third place. With the wind having picked up significantly, his position could remain close to the top 20 by the end of Thursday.
“I putted well today, which is why I got this result. I didn’t hit the ball particularly well; it was pretty much the same as it has been recently. I’ve got a good feel for my putting and the ball is rolling nicely. It’s just a question of whether the line and the speed will come together. I sank some good putts today, but I also left a few shots on the greens,” Lindell summed up.
Starting from the 10th tee, Lindell struggled to find his rhythm at the start of the round, but his form improved as he moved onto the back nine. The Porvoo native carded three birdies in a row at the start of the back nine (holes 1–3).
“The start was tricky; my wedge shots were landing too far short. Luckily, I managed to sink one from a bit further out early on, but there weren’t many good opportunities there. The start of the front nine, on the other hand, is easy, as you’re practically playing wedges into the green all the time, so you really ought to be making at least one birdie from those. Today I got three in a row. That’s a good way to start tomorrow’s round.”
“The afternoon round is usually the more challenging one. If you can get the ball on the fairway and putt well, you’d expect to be able to do the same tomorrow afternoon, wouldn’t you? It’s baffling that I managed this result with a mediocre round, just by sinking my putts,” mused Lindell.
The Finn failed to hit the fairway on any of the course’s three par-5 holes and had to settle to lay-up all of them. The result was three par scores. He made birdies on the par-4s and on the 180-metre par-3 (hole 16). The par-5s are the ones where there is room for improvement, given Friday’s results.
“When you hit the fairway, the course is as easy as you’d expect. The pin positions made it a bit more challenging today, and getting close to the pin was quite difficult. Hitting the rough on this course creates uncertainty – you can’t tell if the ball will go anywhere from there. There was one spot where the ball wouldn’t go anywhere, whereas on other occasions I managed a decent shot from the rough.”
China’s 18-year-old Yanhan Zou (-8) took the lead in the competition, finishing her round with an eagle on the ninth hole.
Lindell will start his second round at 14.25 Finnish time on Friday.