Lindell played his round in pitch darkness – 14th consecutive round under par
Oliver Lindell played the second day of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in difficult conditions, scoring 71 (-1), and his total score of -6 after two rounds was enough for T16. The battle for the lead remained well within reach for the Finn, even though the day was more challenging in every way than the opening day.
"I hit a few really weak shots to the right into the fairway bunkers. Draw tees do cause problems, and there are six of them here. After the tees, I've performed well, so the other areas are in really good shape. I sank a pretty big putt on the first fairway, but otherwise I putted 2-3 metres in, the longer ones just didn't sink. Nevertheless, the putting was good. The weather was also challenging today, with heavy rain."
However, the rain was not the biggest concern in these conditions, as it was fairly consistent for everyone. Lindell just made it to the finish line on Friday before the round was interrupted due to darkness. Only the last group of the day remained on the course. Finishing had its advantages, as tomorrow's wake-up call was postponed by at least four hours, but on the last few holes, you could hardly see anything after sunset.
"The last fairway was played in pitch darkness, and I deliberately deviated from the playbook and hit three strokes onto the green, as I couldn't see anything there anymore. I'm not complaining about the decision, as we finished the round and don't have to come to the course at seven in the morning tomorrow for one hole after a break of several hours. Yes, the inequality between the different categories of players is obvious, but good performances can influence that, and fortunately the situation will be different next year," Lindell said.
The tournament organisers would certainly have liked the players to finish on Friday, as there is currently no certainty about the start times for the third round, for example. A total of 84 players will advance to the third round, with the cut line (-2) set at the top 65 and those tied behind them. Lindell retained his lead, with tournament leader Hideki Matsuyama (-12) six strokes behind.
"I had a good start to the round today. I had my first bogey of the day on the seventh hole when I missed the green, which you can't afford to do, and hit my second shot into a pretty 'dead' spot. I tried a big lob shot, but my club slipped under the ball and I ended up in a bunker, from where I made a good up & down. However, I'm in a good position going into the weekend."