Soft greens proved Lindell's undoing – first elimination since April
Oliver Lindell improved by three strokes in the second round (71/-1) compared to yesterday, but his total score of +2 will not take the Finn to the next rounds this week. This ends his streak of five consecutive competitions in which he made the cut. This week was a slight setback in terms of results after the finest achievements of his career so far – a top 10 finish and a place in The Open.
Although Lindell missed a few tee shots, including some into fairway bunkers, he was satisfied with his performance, and his shot-making was on point from the start today. One unfortunate double bogey on the fourth hole cost him dearly in terms of advancing to the next round. It interrupted a round that had started well, and there was nothing wrong with the shot itself – the ball landed in the wrong place on the soft greens, which proved to be Lindell's undoing.
"It was a good day today, even though unfortunately the result wasn't enough. On the double bogey on the fourth hole, the flag was in such a position that it was impossible to hit with a wedge. The ball landed next to the flag and spun uncontrollably into the water. Today's shots should have been enough to secure a place for the weekend. I could have accepted a bogey on the third hole, which came from a long way off, but I made a mistake on the double bogey and the second bogey of the day," commented Lindell.
No particular area of his game faltered over the two days, even though his results were lacklustre. The greens in Munich are in very soft condition, and many players have experienced hard spins. It rained overnight in Germany, which softened the greens even further. Lindell did not like this.
"The greens were good for putting, but it was completely random how the ball would bounce when chipping. Approaches were also challenging to hit, as even a 5-iron had to be hit over the flag because it came back so much. This kind of setup (soft greens) and conditions were poison for my game, even though the course looked nice to the eye."
The Porvoo native now has a break of just under two weeks before the biggest challenge of his career. The Open tees off on 17 July in Northern Ireland.
"There's no problem with my game. It's just a shame about the strike, as I can't get home today because of it."
The competition is led by England's Daniel Brown and Jordan Smith and Japan's Yuto Katsuragawa with a score of -9. Tapio Pulkkanen has started his round with five par scores and will have to pick up the pace by three strokes to keep Finland represented over the weekend.