Lindell had a lacklustre opening round in India – “It was a shame I couldn’t even crack a joke with anyone”
Oliver Lindell’s opening round at the Hero Indian Open was challenging, to say the least. After five holes, the Finn was sitting at +4, following a triple bogey on a par-3 hole. The situation was not made any easier by the fact that the round had already lasted nearly two hours by that point. He then fought his way to a par finish for the rest of the round, resulting in a total score of 76 (+4). In the final stretch, Lindell managed to card three birdies, whilst conceding the same number of bogeys.
The problems were largely found in an area where Finnish players typically excel.
“My iron play wasn’t up to the standard needed to play a good round. I hit some baffling shots that went wide of the pin on the left. One of them even ended up in the lake. Add to that three putts after a wedge shot, and I had a triple bogey on my hands. In the opening round, I just couldn’t get my clubs to hit the mark, and a couple of easy bogeys crept in,” Lindell mused.
“My swing improved towards the end, but I couldn’t sink the putts – my putter was really struggling on the back nine. I had some good birdie chances towards the end, but I only managed to convert one of them.”
Lindell’s preparations for the tournament were unusual, as his caddie, Emil Markus – who had carried his clubs from one event to the next – was unable to take part in this week’s competition due to visa issues. After an exceptionally difficult round, it would be easy to conclude that this had an impact on the result. Lindell himself did not blame his poor choices on the absence of his caddie, but admitted that it had affected his mental state to have a familiar face missing.
“What annoyed me most was having to stay quiet for the whole round and not being able to have a chat with anyone at all. There I was, alone with my foggy thoughts for the remaining 13 holes. On top of that, it was an unbelievably slow six-hour round. There are too many players in this competition; the course isn’t up to scratch and not everyone can finish even their rounds. The last hole was played in the dark, but luckily we managed to finish it and won’t have to start from the 18th hole tomorrow.”
The group following the Finn will have to continue their round early on Friday morning. Lindell and his playing partners will tee off for the second round from the 10th tee at 4.35 am Finnish time. The Porvoo native finds himself in a situation for the first time this season where he is fighting hard to make the cut on Friday. So far, he has made the cut convincingly in all nine of his tournaments.
The lead in the competition was taken by Germany’s Freddy Schott, who celebrated victory in Bahrain, with a score of -6.