Asian Tour Q-school graduate Charlie Lindh is having a week to remember after following up qualification for this year’s Open Championship with a place in the top-10 going into the weekend at International Series Morocco.
That remarkable achievement is all-the-more impressive given the gruelling midweek journey it took to reach the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam Red Course, as part of a whirlwind 48 hours that saw him secure a spot in his first ever Major - at this year’s Open Championship.
Lindh,who joined the Asian Tour in January after finishing in sixth spot at Q-School in Thailand, had delayed his trip this week to accommodate a visit to Burnham & Berrow in Somerset for final Open qualifying.
That proved to be a good call as he secured a place in the field for the 152nd edition of The Open at Royal Troon, which takes place from 18-21 July, in nail-biting fashion.
But with a three-hour drive from the course to London, a four-hour stop-over in a hotel and a four-hour drive to Rabat from Marrakesh following his flight to Morocco, Lindh only just made it to Royal Golf Dar Es Salam on Thursday morning. That gave him just enough time to walk eight holes and hit the range ahead of his afternoon first-round tee time.
The 26-year-old could be forgiven for struggling – especially after the excitement of qualifying for a first major. However, Lindh brushed aside his lack of preparation and fatigue on day one and bounced back from an early double bogey on his second hole with six birdies to record a stunning four-under 69.
He followed that up on day two with a 71 that also included an early double, to finish at six under, in tied ninth and just three off the lead in a bunched leaderboard.
Lindh admitted he was already running on empty going into the weekend after such a gruelling week. The Swede, who had previously missed the cut at both International Series Oman and International Series Macau presented by Wynn, put his good form down to a combination of decent rest and practice coming into the busy week.
He said: “I got off to a slow start today again, made a double on my third hole. I managed to make a couple of birdies after that but obviously I was struggling at the end. I am so tired at the moment. I just need to go home and sleep and get ready for the weekend.
“I had three weeks off before heading out (to Open qualifying) this week. I had not been playing the way I would like to play. But I took the time off and now I am excited to play again. I had a lot of practice, I changed one thing and that was the major difference.”
It is little wonder that Lindh is mentally and physically tired. With an Open place in his grasp, he bogeyed the 35th of 36 holes played in one day to slip back to five under and into a three-man play-off for the remaining two available spots to join Justin Rose and Dominic Clemons.
Despite overcooking his birdie attempt on the first play-off hole, Lindh held his nerve to slot home the four-foot return and secure his spot alongside Fireballs GC star Abraham Ancer, at the expense of his LIV Golf League colleague Anirban Lahiri of Crushers GC.
Having claimed a spot in his first-ever major, Lindh does not want to rest on his laurels. He still has The International Series glory on his mind, positioned at ninth, just three shots off leader John Catlin as part of a packed leaderboard that has a five-man tie for second just a shot behind the American.
Lindh said: “You know this week is going to be like this, so you must accept it. And that is why I had those three weeks off, to make sure I was fully charged. But I am still tired, no doubt about it. I felt tired and was feeling it out on the course. Travelling between The Open qualifying and here was horrendous but I am here and I am in contention and I’m excited to be playing this weekend – it’s brilliant.”
The International Series is the most prized pathway in golf. It consists of 10 elite tournaments sanctioned by the Asian Tour and offers the year-long Rankings leader promotion to the LIV Golf League
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