Lindell hit 16 greens in regulation but struggled on the greens – “My putting isn’t up to the standard required for this tournament”
Oliver Lindell got off to a fine start on the Old Course at St Andrews, carding a three-under-par score on the front nine on Saturday. He racked up three birdies on the front nine and kept bogeys off his scorecard. His strong ball-striking continued on the third day, and the Porvoo native missed only two greens during his round, hitting 16 greens in regulation.
However, his birdie run came to a halt on the back nine, and a couple of unwanted bogeys appeared on his scorecard. During Friday’s round at Kingsbarns, the Finn repeatedly struggled to sink his putts on the slow greens, but on the Old Course greens the ball rolled more quickly than yesterday.
“It was much the same as yesterday. My putting isn’t up to scratch in a competition like this. It’s tricky to hit the ball close to the flag in a strong crosswind. It’s pretty much a matter of luck whether the wind helps you or blows against you. A great many shots were heading towards the flag, but the distance was off.”
“Both bogeys were down to misjudging the wind. I thought the shots would end up at the base of the flag, but they didn’t quite make it all the way. On the 10th hole, I got a chip within a metre, but I couldn’t sink the putt. The second bogey of the day was again the result of a three-putt. I really shouldn’t have made any bogeys today. On the front nine, I managed to approach with my wedge on several occasions, but I couldn’t get them close enough,” Lindell lamented.
Saturday’s round score of 70 (-2) brings his total to -9, putting him in joint 30th place after three rounds. Although the third round brought an unfortunate setback, tomorrow offers a fresh chance to bounce back at the Old Course, the cradle of golf. Playing at this level still offers the chance to climb into the top spots, provided Sunday turns out to be the best day of the week on the greens.
Casey Jarvis has pulled clear at the top of the leaderboard with a score of -18, but there are only three strokes separating him from seventh place, for example.