Oliver Lindell played a magnificent round in stormy winds – "The wind gusted up to 20 m/s."
Under normal circumstances, a scorecard with 14 pars, two bogeys and two birdies would not be particularly satisfying for Lindell, but today we can definitely talk about a top round. Only two players from the morning tees managed to score under par, and the weather does not look like it will improve any time soon.
"It was steady going today. I hit one tee shot long into the rough, which immediately sets the typewriter singing. However, I managed to get through it with a par. It's quite a defensive game on every fairway, trying to hit the middle of the green and get slightly longer putts in. Even a slightly crooked shot with the wrong spin means trouble," Lindell said of his battle.
The overall result of -3 (par today) puts him in 6th place after the round, and if the weather remains as challenging as expected, a top 10 finish at the end of the day is very possible. Lindell opened the day's birdie scoring with a spectacular 15-metre putt on the seventh hole. This was followed by another birdie, but unfortunately the front nine ended with a bogey. In the final round, the Porvoo native battled with "only" one bogey in the Amsterdam wind.
"On the seventh hole, I had 190 metres to the flag, which I hit with a full 3-iron. It flew 175 metres, when normally it would go 215 metres – that says everything about the weather today. If yesterday there was a one-mile wind, today there was a four-mile wind. That means 10 m/s, and twice as hard in gusts. Par was a good result on every hole today," Lindell analysed.
Those who followed the broadcast certainly got some idea of the conditions of the day. When the wind disrupts the game, good self-confidence and commitment to your shots become even more important.
Lindell is very happy to be in this situation, as he was when there were challenges in the opening game. His high level of confidence is also evident in his unchanged game plan from yesterday, when the conditions were considerably easier.
"Everyone plays how they see fit, but I mainly used a club one size larger for my approach shots to keep the ball low. If my game had been in the same condition as a couple of months ago, it would have been very difficult. I didn't change my game plan in any of my tee shots compared to yesterday."
Sweden's Joakim Lagergren took the lead in the competition with a total score of -8. Commentators compared his 68-stroke round today to yesterday's 62-stroke result. Our western neighbour said that the wind had the biggest impact on his putting, causing him to miss three putts. Lindell had the same thoughts.
"Yes, the gusts had a big impact on the putting too. That was an excellent performance considering that there weren't really any birdie opportunities – maybe a couple of strokes could have been shaved off."
The other Finnish player in the competition, Tapio Pulkkanen, has just turned his round around with three consecutive birdies. He is currently at +4 overall, while the cut line could drop to the same +4 in challenging conditions.