Lindell raced into the top 20 with an eagle and shines in the putting statistics – third best in the field
Oliver Lindell reached peak form in the second round of his first major tournament, The Open. The Virvik Golf player scored 68/-3 on Friday and shares 17th place with a total score of -2. Among others, reigning Open champion Xander Schauffele is in the same position. He is only two strokes away from a top 10 finish and has already shared 12th place with Rory McIlroy.
The man himself took his top round in stride, which speaks to his cool-headed approach to the competition, even though this is the toughest event of his career so far. Going into the tournament, his goal was to play all four rounds, and Lindell passed the cut with flying colours.
"My iron play improved a lot today. In the pouring rain, I missed one tee shot on the eighth hole when my mini-driver shot went into the bunker. I decided not to take any risks on those, and just hit a gap shot, which still gave me a good par position. On the 16th hole (a 200-metre par 3), I couldn't get in with two shots from the edge of the green. Otherwise, it was a really strong performance overall," Lindell summed up.
Lindell got off to a dream start on the Royal Portrush course. The Finn sank consecutive seven- and five-metre birdie putts and got off to a flying start on Friday afternoon. This was followed by five solid pars, thanks in particular to good putting.
Lindell once again faced the challenge of the fairway bunkers today, when on the eighth hole, the fairway bunker offered only a gap, resulting in the first bogey of the day. On the back nine, the sun began to peek through after a rainy start to the round, and on the 12th hole, Lindell made his move. The Porvoo native sank his seven-metre eagle putt from the centre of the green after two fine strokes.
"A strong start to the round promised good things. The eagle on the 12th hole sealed the deal, I hit three perfect strokes. After the tee shot, I had 222 metres to the flag, from where I hit a 3-iron onto the green, and I did feel a little nervous, because at that point I knew I had to finish the job. Once I got my iron game sorted, it became much easier – a really strong round."
After yesterday, Lindell was disappointed about "wasting" the par 5 holes in terms of his score, but today he shot three birdies for a total of -3. After the eagle, he carded four pars, one birdie and one bogey, which came on a challenging 200-metre par 3 hole.
Lindell is at the top of the putting statistics. He has "won" almost six strokes with his putter in the Strokes Gained statistics, which is the third highest score in the competition. Improved putting is a big reason for his fantastic performance in the competition so far. The change came during the DP World Tour competition in Italy, where he achieved his first top 10 finish.
"I've been putting well since Italy – I found a new putting stance there. In practice, I just moved the putter shaft a little closer to the centre so that my hands are no longer as far forward. Thanks to that, I've been able to get the ball rolling better."
Lindell will tee off on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Finnish time alongside Australia's Marc Leishman.