Saturday’s stellar round didn’t continue – Lindell: “A tough day, but it’s nice to have managed at least a couple of birdies to finish with”
Oliver Lindell was unable to replicate the form he showed in Saturday’s outstanding round for his final round. He carded a 72 (+1), the first score of the tournament to go over par, which saw him drop from a top-10 position to a tie for 30th place.
The Finnish player, who had played brilliantly on Saturday, found himself in considerably more trouble on Sunday, particularly with the wind shifting direction.
“It was a tough day; the wind changed direction in the same way as it did on the final day in Spain. Today we were playing into a completely opposite wind to the previous days, and that certainly caused problems. My tee shots were poor today; many of them veered badly to the right. My tee shot on the 10th was the worst I’ve had in a while, and both my tee shots on the 9th and 13th with the hybrid veered horribly to the right,” Lindell lamented.
The round got off to a difficult start when a short par putt on the first hole slipped past the hole. The same fate befell him on the final hole of the front nine. After a few missed tee shots, the Finn was already three over par for the round, but a strong finish boosted his chances as he notched up two birdies.
“It’s nice that I managed to get a couple of birdies at the end. There was a good chance to make four in a row there. Apart from my poor driving, the putts just won’t drop. There’s nothing for it but to look ahead to next week.”
Whilst Lindell’s final day was somewhat of a let-down, there was some great news from the Challenge Tour, of which Lindell was also aware. His good friend and last year’s tour partner, Tapio Pulkkanen, clinched victory at the HotelPlanner Tour event held in Denmark.
“I was aware of Tapsa’s situation; I’d check in with my caddie, Eetu, every now and then to see how things were going.”
The battle for the title took a dramatic turn on the final round when Zander Lombard, who had been well on his way to victory, faltered, carding a double bogey in between two bogeys. At the same time, his compatriot Richard Sterne finished strongly with an eagle on the 17th hole. It had been a full 13 years since the South African veteran’s last victory, and he had made over 200 starts in the intervening period.