Lindell has a special week ahead in Spain, with his loved ones by his side
Oliver Lindell is back in action this week in Barcelona. The last two tournaments haven’t quite yielded the results he was hoping for, and the Finn is hoping to sharpen his game in this third consecutive tournament in the middle of the season. Once again, the preparation time has been short and the amount of practice limited, but at least some welcome changes have been made to the bag to make playing easier.
“I’ve had the clubheads on my hybrid and mini-driver refitted. The biggest change, though, is going back to the old mini-driver shaft I used at the end of last season. I’ve been wondering why I switched to a shaft from a different manufacturer in the first place. These changes have felt good over the last two days, even though I haven’t had many practice swings.”
Lindell has been joined in Barcelona by a large number of relatives and close ones who are there to cheer him on. Naturally, part of his preparation time has been spent enjoying each other’s company alongside training sessions. Lindell has been delighted by the presence of his loved ones, as well as that of his familiar playing partner Tapio Pulkkinen, who has been with him for two weeks running.
“We’ve got a great week ahead of us here. The course is absolutely brilliant; at times it feels as though you’re in some kind of enchanted forest – there are some truly magnificent holes. Every now and then you move from the woods onto open ground, but it’s a fantastic course, there’s no other way to put it. The undulating greens and tight tee shots will provide the challenge this week,” said Lindell.
This visually appealing course is unfamiliar to Lindell, and certainly to most players. No major tour-level competition has been held at El Prat for 11 years, and this event, in its current format, is a new addition to the DP World Tour calendar. At just over 6,400 metres, the course is relatively short by tour standards, and a driver is by no means a must on every hole. For this reason, the adjustments to the mini-driver is particularly well-timed.
The Finn spoke of his intention to hit the fairway more often using clubs smaller than a driver, such as a mini-driver and long irons. This will hopefully improve his accuracy, which has been lacking at times in recent tournaments.
Lindell will start his race from 10th tee on Thursday at 14:10 Finnish time. He will be joined by the North American duo of Sean Crocker and Aaron Cockerill.