One missed drive could cost Lindell a place in the next round in Hainan
Oliver Lindell's day was longer than usual today as he played a total of 26 holes at the Hainan Classic in China due to yesterday's interruption. After more than eight hours on the course, the Porvoo native is at par (71-73), just above the cut line (T70). There will be plenty of excitement until the afternoon regarding who will advance, as half of the players are still finishing their rounds and the rankings are changing.
"According to my calculations, this won't be enough to advance, but you can always hope. I could pack my bags, but I'll stay here to see how it goes. Let's hope there are no interruptions, as the wind is quite challenging at the moment. I believe that if there is an interruption and the games are postponed, I will be eliminated, but if we play until dark, it might be enough," Lindell pondered.
Lindell finished the opening round today with a score of -1. The final result was the same as yesterday after ten holes, with only one birdie, one bogey and six pars on the card. This was immediately followed by the second round, which was a little more eventful.
The front and back nine of the second round were a bit of a weak phase, which almost cost him a place in the next round. He had bogeys on holes 8 and 11, while on hole 12 he slipped up with a double bogey. Apart from these, his performance was good, including three birdies.
"The drive on the 12th hole today cost me a lot when I had to take a drop from the flat rocks. I also had three putts in a row on holes 11 and 12, and suddenly I was playing against the cut line again. It's tough going, but it was a big battle to the end, where my own cassette lasted to bring the overall result to par. At the end, there were still a few 3-5 metre par putts and good sand saves on holes 14 and 18," the Finn summed up his second round.
There has been a clear improvement in his putting since last week, even though the result may lead to elimination. The main challenge has been his opening play, as his occasional drives on the Hainan course have strayed off the tee. In the second round, the only tee shot with a driver was fatal, as the tee shot on the 12th hole resulted in the only double bogey of the week.
"You could hit about five tee shots with a driver here if it were in better shape. You can do well here with a spoon, and it's nicer to continue from the fairway than to hit a drive and take a penalty stroke. It's challenging when you haven't hit a single drive in three hours, so after that, your performance is at this level," Lindell said of his tee shots.
There have also been plenty of challenges for the other Finnish player in the competition, Tapio Pulkkasen, who is in 127th place with a score of +5. Like Lindell, he played the second round with 73 strokes. The competition is led by Sean Crocker of the United States with a score of -9 halfway through the second round.