TILBAKABLICK: Mikael Lindberg took a huge step towards securing his DP World Tour card for 2023 by winning his first European Challenge Tour title at the Indoor Golf Group Challenge.
The Swede posted a closing five under par round of 66 to win by three on 17 under par with Denmark’s Nicolai Tinning, Englishman Steven Tiley and France’s Robin Sciot-Siegrist sharing second place on 14 under par.
Lindberg’s consistent campaign had yielded four top tens before this week at Allerum Golfklubb but he has now moved to 11th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings following his dream breakthrough victory and has one hand on a DP World Tour card for 2023.
“I don’t know what to say, it’s been a long week and to be standing here as a champion is a dream come true, it’s amazing,” he said.
“It means the world to me. Indoor Golf Group have been a big part of my golfing career. They believe in me, which means the world to me, and to be able to win their tournament is very special.”
The Indoor Golf Group Challenge was reduced to 54 holes due to heavy rainfall on Saturday, meaning Lindberg was forced to resume his third round on Sunday after completing only one hole, which he bogeyed.
“I only had chance play a hole and a half yesterday and I managed to bogey the first,” he said. “Today was a good day for me, my putter worked well and I was good off the tee and it gave me a lot of chances.
“When we teed off yesterday, there was so much rain and I was so wet, so for me it was good that play got suspended and we had to wait until today. It worked out well for me but I did get a bit lucky.
“I thought Robin was 15 under after 17 and thought he might birdie the last, so I thought I’d need to birdie 18. I walked up and saw he was 14 under so it was a bit of a relief.
“I don’t think this changes anything. I love to play golf and play a lot of tournaments so I’m going to keep my schedule as it is and continue playing.”
Tiley’s tie for second place is his best finish since his victory at Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge in 2019, while Tinning’s share of the runner-up spot is his career-best. Swedish duo Christopher Feldborg Nielsen and Jakob Hansson shared fifth place on 13 under par with Norway’s Kristian Krogh Johannessen, while another Swede in Simon Forsström was a shot further back in eighth.
German pair Alex Knappe and Velten Meyer, France’s Gary Stal and England’s Jordan Wrisdale completed the top ten by sharing ninth on 11 under par.
The Road to Mallorca now heads to the Netherlands for the B-NL Challenge Trophy by Hulencourt in Belgium from September 1-4.
