Lindell is set to get a great opportunity to prove himself at The Belfry, at the request of the European Ryder Cup captain
Oliver Lindell has an interesting week ahead of him at the British Masters, to be played at The Belfry. The Porvoo native is back on the tee after a week’s break, following a somewhat reduced tournament schedule. Below is a fine joint second place from Denmark.
What makes this week particularly interesting is Lindell’s playing partner. Captain Luke Donald, who led the European Ryder Cup team to two consecutive victories, has asked the Finnish sensation to play in the same tee-off group as him for the first two days this week. Donald has not previously faced Lindell, nor played alongside him, but he too has taken note of the Finn’s strong season.
“He has been really consistent and performed steadily over the past year. I haven’t met him before, but I’m looking forward to getting to know him better over the next two rounds,” Donald said in an interview on the DP World Tour website.
The British Masters is the first tournament in which European players have the chance to boost their points tally ahead of the 2027 Ryder Cup rankings, so it is no coincidence that their captain is returning to the course for this iconic event.
“The hunt for Ryder Cup points begins this week, but my personal feeling is that we’re still a long way off that level. However, this week is a brilliant opportunity to show the captain what we can do, as we’ll be playing together for two days,” said Lindell.
The third player in the group is one of the hottest players on the tour, Eugenio Chacarra, who has already bagged two wins. Lindell has already played a practice round with him in preparation for the competition. The trio’s tee-off time for the opening round is 10.10 on Thursday, Finnish time. Starting from the 10th tee, the trio will be one of the tournament’s ‘featured groups’, i.e. the groups receiving the closest attention.
This tournament marks Lindell’s debut at the British Masters and at The Belfry. The conditions on the course have taken him by surprise, at least to some extent.
“I’ve never been here before, and the ‘set-up’ was completely different to what I’d expected. I was expecting tough rough all round the course, but there’s no rough at all, as everything has burnt out due to the drought. There’s only any green to be seen on the greens and in the rough surrounding them, and in places on the fairways, but otherwise it’s really dry. The rough near the greens is quite tight, though. The course looks challenging, and there’s still a question mark over whether we’ll be able to play in the morning, as heavy rain is forecast for tomorrow.”
Lindell’s kit has also undergone a minor update, albeit partly out of necessity.
“The old clubhead on the driver was completely worn out, so it’s now been replaced with a new model. We don’t really use the driver much on the front nine here, but on the back nine we’ll get a chance to see how the new clubhead performs on the course.”