Matt is floored by his finish
Wallace gifts victory to Swede
Matt Wallace slammed his putter into the 18th green in frustration after squandering a golden opportunity to win the Betfred British Masters at Hillside yesterday.
the fiery Londoner had appeared poised for his fifth European tour success when he stood over a short birdie putt at the par-five 17th to preserve a one- stroke lead. But, after missing that one, he missed again from 15ft at the last — and then watched his playing partner Marcus Kinhult hole from inside him for a victory by the narrowest of margins.
this was the first tour success for the 22-year- old Swede and represented a real act of party gate- crashing before another sell-out Southport crowd, given that alongside Wallace and sharing the runner-up spot were two more Brits in defending champion Eddie Pepperell and Scottish rookie Bob MacIntyre.
Kinhult, indeed, was the only non-Brit occupying any of the first seven places as Scot Richie Ramsay and Englishmen Jordan Smith and Paul Waring followed the leading quartet.
‘I’m speechless, I don’t know what to say about those birdies on the last two holes,’ said Kinhult, and no wonder, given he had missed his last four cuts and had not finished better than 18th in any event this year.
Pepperell could reflect contentedly on a final round 66 that almost proved good enough, while 22- year- old MacIntyre finished eagle-birdie to complete the best performance of his fledgling career.
By stark contrast, Wallace was tight-lipped with fury as he contemplated what must have been the longest of charter flights to New York last night for the US PGa Championship.
the 29-year- old had talked much in the build-up about seeing the bigger picture and he will be needing that perspective in the coming days. No one likes to see trophies elude them in this manner, and particularly a man who has forged a welldeserved reputation over the last two years as a winner.
tournament host tommy Fleetwood had a chance to move to within a shot of the lead when he stood over an eagle putt at the 11th. after leaving that one short, it felt like the week caught up with him, as he stumbled to finish in a tie for eighth.
Quite rightly, his overriding emotion was not disappointment but pride, for the event had proved a wonderful success, with 70,000 people attending over the four days.
‘I couldn’t have asked for more from my first stint at hosting,’ he said. ‘You never know how these things will go but it’s been amazing, from all the fans who turned up to all the players who told me how much they enjoyed the week.’
after all the uncertainty last year, when the British Masters was in grave danger of being dropped from the schedule, the revival will continue at Close House, near Newcastle next year with Lee Westwood hosting for a second time.