Lindell scores another 68 strokes in a row – "With a low score, a top 10 finish is possible tomorrow"
Oliver Lindell played his second consecutive round of 68 on the hot Monte Argentario course. His total score of -3 is enough to put him in 29th place after the round. The Finn was particularly pleased with his opening and wedge play today.
"My tee shots were good today, and my wedge play is at a good level. The only area that's struggling is my iron play. I'm constantly trying to fine-tune my iron shots on the course, and they improved towards the end. Tomorrow, my goal is to play my best round of the week. With a low round, even a top 10 finish is possible," said Lindell.
There is still room for improvement in his iron play, which is Lindell's usual weapon, but even there we saw improvement towards the end of the round, although his iron shots cost him a few bogeys in the early part of the round. The Porvoo native made five birdies and three bogeys during the day's round. Monte Argentario's sixth hole has been a source of frustration for Lindell, as the Virvik native has played the hole four strokes over par in three rounds.
"Today, I hit a good shot on the sixth hole for the first time, but it was about five metres too long, and the ball took a big bounce behind the green. On the 11th hole, the wind picked up, and you couldn't feel it on the tee by the mountain wall. I was the first to tee off, and I chose two clubs too many for that gust of wind, and my opening shot ended up in the back bunker. However, I made a great bogey save with a drop shot."
The players were aware of the Italian heat, but the Southern Europeans at the top of the leaderboard, among others, have said in broadcasts that the weather is too hot even for them. Lindell has not been bothered by the warm weather, even though the mercury has risen well above 30 degrees Celsius.
"It's undeniably warm here, but today it felt even easier, even though the temperature is already 35 degrees, because the game progressed faster when all the tees were on the first tee and the course wasn't badly congested. The greens were the best of the week today, as they have been watered so much."
Leading the competition are the young superstars of the tour, Angel Ayora (-11) and Martin Couvra (-10). The French-Spanish duo has progressed at an even pace on Saturday, achieving identical results on each of the nine holes. Tapio Pulkkanen, who made the cut for the first time in a long time, shot a 71 today and is tied for 63rd place.