New driver in the bag – Lindell had a good opening round
Oliver Lindell played the opening day of the Austrian Alpine Open on a par 70 course with a score of 69 (-1), which currently puts him in 15th place. The afternoon starters are just getting their rounds underway.
Lindell's competition in Austria started with a bogey on the first hole, but the Finn quickly got back on track. He then scored three birdies in a row on holes 2-4 at Gut Altentann. He managed to hit three really hot approach shots in a row.
"I played reasonably well from the tee to the green today, with a couple of easy mistakes with my distance, which resulted in bogeys on holes 1 and 13. It was an okay start to the week. This week, I added a new driver to my bag in addition to my mini driver, and I hit both well from the tee," Lindell said of his round.
After that, however, the round entered a bit of a lull. The next birdie didn't come until hole 16, where the birthday boy managed to drop his approach shot half a metre from the flag and made an easy birdie.
"I've never seen a weather forecast go so wrong. It was cold in the morning, but it only started raining heavily on the back nine, and now the sun is shining. The weather wasn't as bad as predicted, but the condition of the course is disappointing. I can't believe that tournaments at this level are played on such a wet course."
As for the morning starters, the lead is set at -5, with Germany's Nicolai Dellingshausen playing his round with 65 strokes. The second Finnish player in the competition, Tapio Pulkkanen, started his round at 2:15 p.m. After being eliminated from three competitions, he is now looking to secure a place in the weekend's competition for the first time in a long while.
Lindell will tee off for his second round on Friday at 2:10 p.m. Finnish time from the 10th tee.