The attempted attack on the final fairway dampened the result and the mood – “The best day of the week – unfortunately, it left a bad taste in the mouth”
Oliver Lindell produced his best performance of the week on the final day, but he missed out on the prize due to a mistake on the last hole. He was on -3 going into the final hole on Sunday’s round and set out to cap off a good day with one more birdie, aiming to break into the top 15. However, a double bogey meant he dropped to T34 with a score of -5.
“It was the best day of the week, but I didn’t sink enough putts. It all fell apart on the final hole, after I’d hit a perfect drive onto the fairway and a lay-up to 80 metres. However, my wedge shot caught too much wind and had too much spin, so it landed a couple of metres too early before the green’s slope and spun into the water. I still managed a good chip to within a metre, but the putt went just past the pin.”
“I’m not going to back off in situations like this anymore; I need to start making shots from these spots, especially as my wedge play is in top form. It was just a dreadful performance – it took two good shots to get into that position. The third shot still looked good and I thought it was going right at the flag. I should obviously have played a chip shot into the back stands instead,” Lindell chuckled.
Although the week didn’t yield the results he’d hoped for, Lindell seemed to be in good form after the break. The result doesn’t always reflect how you feel or how you’ve performed. The most important thing is that the player feels his form is good. The tournament run, which began in China and continues in Europe, comes at a good time, and the next opportunity to shine is already next week in Turkey. Moving to Europe suits Lindell, and he performed well there on numerous occasions last season.
“Unfortunately, this tournament left a bitter taste in my mouth, even though my performance was actually quite decent after the front nine on the first day. I was too greedy on the last hole, wanting that birdie, and it came back to haunt me. Today, on the back nine, I hit my approach shots on practically every hole exactly where I wanted them. I just didn’t sink a single 5–8-metre putt. The pin positions were tricky, and you couldn’t attack them all.”
“A light training session at home tomorrow, and thankfully we’ll be back to work in Turkey,” Lindell concluded.
Spanish-born Adrian Otaegui (-19), who has been in strong form recently, is on course to win the tournament. A victory would be the sixth of his career for Otaegui, who now represents the United Arab Emirates. His form has fluctuated wildly in recent years, but his previous victory came in this very tournament two years ago.