Lindell is closing in on the lead again – three strokes off the top spot
Oliver Lindell produced what is currently his “standard performance” in the opening round of the Hainan tournament. That translates to an excellent round of 68 (-4), which means a result right behind top 10. With some players still out on the course, the result is currently good enough for a tie for 11th place.
Behind this strong performance lies the superb iron play that has become the Finnish player’s trademark. Lindell himself reckoned that with his solid ball-striking, he would do at least well in the tournament. Getting to grips with the slow greens could pave the way for a top finish in this week’s tournament. Lindell converted three of the day’s four par-5s into birdies. His scorecard featured just a single blemish caused by one bogey – also resulted from a three-put green.
“It was a steady round; as I expected, the greens were tricky for me. The only par on the par-5s came from a three-putt, as did the day’s only bogey. My iron play was good; it just felt like I was constantly at the wrong side of the hole when it came to the slope of the greens. There were often a lot of breaks on the putts. I also putted from the foregreen on many occasions.”
Lindell began his tournament on the Vintage Course, which was expected to be the easier of the two. Based on the opening round, the gap isn’t particularly huge between the two courses, and the top of the leaderboard features players from both courses. The reasons for this were clear.
“The flags had been placed in the trickiest spots on this relatively easy course, which is why the scores remained fairly modest. However, I sank a 7-metre putt on the final hole, which left me with a good feeling about the day,” said Lindell happily.
“I couldn’t hit the ball as effortlessly off the tee as I did during my practice rounds, but it was good enough – not bad at all. I kept the ball in play and my solid iron play has set me up nicely for tomorrow.”
The leaders were literally within sight, with Jorge Campillo – who is playing alongside Lindell on Thursday and Friday – leading the tournament on -7.
The pair, along with their amateur partners, will continue the competition from the main course – Blackstone Course – on Friday at 5.57 am Finnish time.