Lindell jumped more than 30 places up the leaderboard – “In the end, a good round left a rather bad taste in my mouth”
Oliver Lindell produced a superb turnaround in the second round of the Hero Indian Open following a difficult opening day. The Finnish player found himself on the wrong side of the cut line after the opening round for the first time this season, but started Friday on a completely different note. After the first ten holes, his scorecard already showed four birdies and just one bogey on the challenging course.
Mistakes towards the end of the round saw the Porvoo native slip slightly down the leaderboard, but his place in this weekend’s rounds is now secure. Lindell, currently in 53rd place, made a leap of well over 30 places up the leaderboard, finishing on a total score of +3.
“Overall, my game was better today. Once again, a good round left a rather bad taste in my mouth in the end, particularly because of the difficulties towards the finish. However, I managed to qualify for the weekend, which is something to be pleased about after yesterday. It would be a great achievement if I could get a score in the minus range this weekend.”
Lindell has managed to finish the more challenging half of the Delhi course (holes 10–18) a full seven strokes better than the front nine. He himself could not pinpoint any specific reason why the more difficult holes have suited the Finn better than the rest.
“Par-5s are easier for me on the back nine. On the front nine (today’s back nine), I hit three poor tee shots in a row (4, 6 and 7). Those are holes where you mustn’t hit it left, and I was overly cautious about that. The tee shots ended up in the rough on the right because of too much spin,” said Lindell.
“On the final hole of the day, I hit a good tee shot down the middle of the fairway, but I misjudged the wind and hit my approach onto the upper tier of the green, from where I couldn’t get it within three metres no matter what. The pin position was a bit ridiculous, as there was no chance of getting within three metres from less than ten metres out, and the result was a bogey from a good spot.”
As is customary, the leaderboard is set to come alive in India over the weekend, and there have also been changes at the top of the competition. Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra (-8) has once again found top form on the tour’s most challenging course, having celebrated his only career victory in India last year. Currently, 21 players are under par, which is a sevenfold increase compared to last year’s final results.