Lindell shares the lead after the opening round in Denmark! – “I found myself wondering whether I’d have enough balls to last the whole round”
Oliver Lindell’s superb round featured many different phases and his scorecard was a mixed bag. The Finn had started the round strongly, sitting at -2 after four holes, until on the 14th hole (the fifth of the day) both his tee shot and his approach shot ended up in the water, resulting in a triple bogey. At that moment, concerns began to mount, but Lindell, working together with his cousin Emil Markus, who was acting as his caddie, managed to turn his thoughts around.
“I did find myself wondering whether I’d have enough balls left for the final round, especially as another one ended up in the lake. But these things happen – I kept my cool and handled it well. Eetu (my caddie) gave me confidence after the triple bogey, and straight away I managed a couple of good swings and a birdie on the scorecard, which got me back on track.”
The triple bogey did not deter Lindell on the following holes, as he went on to card two birdies and sink a long eagle putt on the 17th. He had thus put the triple bogey behind him, playing the next three holes four under par. This was followed by a calmer spell, during which he carded five consecutive pars. He added two more birdies on the back nine, and his total score of 67 (-5) is enough to share the lead in the tournament. Wenyi Ding, Freddy Schott and Felix Mory have all carded the same score.
“I was really good off the tee, and my putting was superb today. That one-and-a-half-metre par-saving putt on the final hole sealed a superb round. The eagle putt was also a tricky one down a steep slope, and it looked as though it was going to go over the top, but somehow it found the back of the cup. I had to aim two metres to the left of the hole. At the start of the back nine, I had a couple more good chances where I could have made birdies. It was great to see such a good crowd turn up,” said Lindell, who hit 13 greens in regulation.
Lindell will start his second round at 14.10 Finnish time. The Nordic team will be one of the TV crews covering the event.