Lindell got off to a strong start – but his wedge play left something to be desired
Oliver Lindell opened the Soudal Open in Belgium with a score of -2, leaving him tied for 50th place after the first day. The Finn displayed strong ball-striking, particularly off the tee, and also recorded an impressive 14 greens in regulation. His brilliant tee shots created opportunities to get closer to the flag, but Lindell’s wedge play was, for once, lacking in precision.
“My wedge play was absolutely dreadful on the front nine today. I haven’t hit my wedges this badly in ages. On the first five par-4s, apart from the second, I was on average 100 metres from the flag, and I didn’t get within eight metres even once. My shots were coming off the clubface a bit flat in a light headwind and often spun right off the green,” Lindell lamented.
Lindell, who struck the ball crisply off the tee, missed only a few of the course’s tight fairways, and one shot into the water on the right of the 14th hole, which was his only costly miss of the opening round. This resulted in the only bogey of the day. He, however, bagged three birdies.
With a slight improvement in his approach shots, a top finish is still very much within reach, as he is only three strokes behind the players tied for fifth place.
“My only drive of the day ended up in the water on the 14th hole. I had trouble with that hole from the tee last year as well. Apart from my wedges, my game was really good – I just couldn’t get close enough to the flag.”
The competition is led by South African Zander Lombard (-8), who carded no fewer than nine birdies on his opening round. The reason behind his superb round was an exceptionally hot putter, as Lombard needed just 21 putts for his 63.
Lindell will tee off for his second round on Friday at 9.50 am Finnish time.