Lindell is well prepared for the flagship competition alongside his coach – “The player’s form and attitude are in good shape”
The DP World Tour moves to the legendary Wentworth this week, where the BMW PGA Championship will be held. This is one of the biggest tournaments of the season and forms part of the Rolex Series. A year ago, Oliver Lindell secured his place in the tour’s finals with a superb performance at Wentworth, just managing to qualify for the tournament being held in England.
“I played really well here last year. Training’s gone well this week, and for the first time in ages we’ve been able to play in summery weather. That’s good for the mind too. The greens are in top condition, which will make putting easier this week, and things have been looking good during practice sessions.”
This year, the situation is different from last year – the aim is to maximise the points tally before the finals to make promotion to the PGA Tour possible at the end of the season. Lindell’s recent results haven’t exactly been top-class. However, his ball-striking has been among the best on the tour, and this week’s aim is to perform better on the greens. The circumstances – and, above all, his own confidence – are good.
“We haven’t made any specific changes to our putting game. In Ireland, the greens were new to me – they were quite bumpy – and I couldn’t get anything right. Let’s hope the weather forecast is accurate and it doesn’t rain heavily here either.”
Lindell has been able to bring his personal coach, Juha Juvonen, to Wentworth this week at just the right time, following a more challenging week.
“We’ve been out on the course for two days now, getting used to the conditions – today we’ll have a light training session and fine-tune the finer details during the Pro-Am. There are a few draw holes off the tee on the course that keep you on your toes. On the putting green, we’ve been working on putting routines – it’s important to stick to them when the pin positions get trickier in the actual competition. His swing and mindset are in good shape. The player’s ambitions are high, and the final tournaments will go a long way towards determining his ranking. We’re taking it one day at a time; right now, the focus is on the tournament starting tomorrow,” reports Juvonen from the venue.
This is, at the very least, one of the most prestigious tournaments on the tour, and that is reflected in the field. Of course, the end of the PGA Tour season, for example, gives the superstars the chance to travel to England. Almost without exception, the tournament features Europe’s finest golfers, including Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland. Shane Lowry, who secured a crushing victory last week, reminded everyone that he still belongs among this elite group.
Lindell will be joined by the Northern Irish/Irish duo of Tom McKibbin and Padraig Harrington. Harrington, one of the legends of European golf, had already won on the European Tour before Lindell and McKibbin were even born.
The trio will tee off on Thursday from the ninth tee at 10.10. This is by no means a mass start, but rather a rarer exception. Lindell is pleased to have the round starting from almost the furthest corner of the course out of the way straight away on Thursday.