Lindell: "It's difficult to play for results starting with a six if you can't get anything in."
Oliver Lindell showed signs of improvement in the second round of the DP World Tour Championship. With three birdies on his front nine, Lindell managed to sink one chip and one putt from off the green, but his difficulties on the greens continued, especially on the back nine.
The day's result was ultimately one stroke better than yesterday's, and the overall result of -1 is enough for T39. Lindell took advantage of the easy conditions and once again hit the ball with diamond-like precision, but did not get the reward he hoped for. Lindell, who had the worst putting of the entire group on the opening day, will also be found at the bottom of the putting statistics after two rounds.
"On the 17th hole, I sank my only putt of more than half a metre today. All my putts missed again today, so considering that, I have to be happy that I played under par. I have to hope that I'll get a few putts in, even if it's just by luck, over the weekend."
A magnificent chip straight into the cup on the fifth hole marked the start of a positive phase in the Porvoo native's final competition. He made three birdies on four holes, and on the seventh hole, Lindell had a chance to try for an eagle, which resulted in an easy birdie. On the other hand, dark clouds loomed over the Finn's mind at the start of the back nine.
"The round started slowly, but a couple of putts from outside the green helped me to a reasonable lead. I hit two really good shots at the start of the back nine, but two consecutive two-metre misses dampened my spirits. After that, I couldn't get anything done," Lindell said disappointedly.
Disappointment was evident on Lindell's face after a mixed round, as recent challenges reared their head again on the back nine. The only putt he sank on the 17th hole gave him a small boost of confidence, and the Finn took a risky approach to the challenging final hole. The nearly 600-metre hole, played into a headwind, quickly nullified the birdie on the previous hole.
"My aggressive approach on the last hole ended up with me hitting my second shot with a driver into the water, which resulted in a bogey. I don't know what to say about this; it's difficult to play with scores starting with a six if you can't get anything in."
Nicolai Hojgaard (-12) from Denmark rose to the top of the competition. Lindell will tee off for his third round at 7:15 a.m. Finnish time together with Martin Couvra.