Lindell stuck to his game plan and continued to play consistently well – “You’ll start racking up bogeys if you get too aggressive”
Oliver Lindell carded a 70 (-2) on Saturday, bringing his total to -8. This is likely to see him climb slightly further up the leaderboard by the end of the day. Saturday’s round continued his consistent run, following on from scores of 69 on the previous days.
“That top round and those birdies will come if they’re meant to, but you don’t go off and play against your own game plan. You’ll certainly start racking up bogeys on this course if you get too aggressive. The greens have started to firm up considerably since yesterday.”
Lindell witnessed first-hand how the Munich course can also produce plenty of bogeys when necessary. Abraham Ancer, who had been playing in the same group as him for the first two days with an even score, could no longer keep up with Lindell’s pace after recording no fewer than six bogeys on Saturday. Consequently, the pair will not be playing all four rounds in the same group.
With the round still in progress, Lindell is tied for 14th place thanks to his birdie on the final hole. On the back nine, he carded two birdies without a single bogey, whilst on the front nine he recorded two of each.
After two days, the Finnish player’s fairway hit percentage was one of the lowest in the competition, and even the third round yielded no more than six fairway hits. This has, naturally, presented its own challenges when approaching the greens. On the greens, however, he has been one of the best.
“My tee shots were all over the place again, but no major mistakes. I started with some easy bogeys – the first one after three putts, and on the second, my wedge flew a couple of metres too far into some thick rough. Otherwise, I played really well today,” said Lindell.
Four players are tied at the top of the leaderboard on -11, of whom Germany’s Thomas Rosenmuller has completed his round. Lindell is just three strokes behind this quartet after completing his own round. Lindell remains well placed in the race for a spot at The Open, although nothing is certain until Sunday’s round is complete.
“We’re certainly not going to start celebrating just yet. It’s definitely not over yet.”