Lindell was on the verge of a run, which was thwarted by a four-putt green – “A challenging week on that area that looks like a green”
Oliver Lindell teed off in New Delhi on Friday from a position behind the leaders, aiming to secure a place in the next round. His seven-hole round on Thursday resulted in a score of +3, from which the Finn set out to climb towards the cut line. The day got off to a promising start, as Lindell managed to finish his opening round under par thanks to four birdies. He started the second round on -1, even though he missed a short birdie putt on the final hole.
Unfortunately, this turned into a persistent trend, particularly on the front nine of the second round. After eight holes, Lindell was already four strokes over par on his second round, having carded four bogeys. This included a four-putt on the green – a uniquely disastrous moment – followed by a three-putt bogey from a distance of about ten metres.
“A very challenging week on that course, which looks like a green. The ball always bounced in a very unpredictable way whenever it landed on the green. The hardest part was controlling the length of my putts, as the grass doesn’t grow everywhere on the sandy greens.”
The player from Porvoo pulled himself together and really fought hard for a place in the next round on the back nine (the front nine of the course). This resulted in three birdies, and on the final hole – the course’s most difficult – a good birdie opportunity presented itself, which would have opened up the possibility of advancing to the next round. However, this putt missed the mark, and Lindell will, in all likelihood, have to pack his bags for the second time this season before the weekend with a score of +1.
“I even managed to secure a great spot for myself. It’s funny, isn’t it – last week I hadn’t a clue about anything, and the result was good. This week we played really well for most of the time, but we just couldn’t get anything on the scoreboard. There were, of course, some moments of utter chaos,” mused Lindell.
The Finnish player’s scorecard reveals a curious detail: Lindell finished the front nine with a total score of +6, whilst his total for the back nine was -5. What is notable here is that the competition rounds began on Thursday on the front nine and on Friday on the back nine, so these were not the same halves of the course where the score was either made or not made. The opening halves of the rounds were painful, whilst the closing halves were brilliant.
“It’s no big deal. We’ll just take a break and train for a couple of weeks, and then we’ll see how the lad’s doing when it’s time to tackle the big games.”
The season’s climax – the DP World Tour Finals – is set to take place in early November. They are scheduled to be held in two parts in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but this has not yet been officially confirmed. Spain is also preparing to host the season finale should the security situation in the Middle East not meet the standards set by the tour.
For Lindell, the final(s) will be the most important events of the season, as he has nothing less than promotion to the PGA Tour at stake.
Angel Hidalgo and Adrian Meronk have moved into joint first place in the competition with a score of -8.