MATT FINISH
Wallace victory surge puts him in the frame for a Ryder wildcard
By the side of the 18th green, Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn broke into a smile and led the raucous applause — and no wonder.
What he and the large crowd at the Made in Denmark tournament had seen from England’s Matt Wallace was off-the-charts extraordinary.
In fact it might just earn the 28-year-old a last-gasp invite to the Ryder Cup.
Wallace already had two wins to his name this year but had drifted to the realms of an outsider for a wildcard following a summer that saw him miss four cuts in a row.
But how do you discount someone who showed again that, when it comes to those gut-churning moments on Sunday, when it’s about nerve and desire as much as talent, he is one of those rare golfers who becomes inspired?
‘I think that finish showed who I am: determination, grit and not shying away from the big occasion,’ said the Londoner, who birdied five of his last six holes to get into a play-off featuring three more Englishmen — including Lee Westwood — and two more birdies on the two extra holes to win.
‘What would it mean to get a Ryder Cup pick? Everything.’
Bjorn said earlier he was fairly sure about three of his four picks — probably Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Henrik Stenson — but the last one was up for debate. If that’s the case, then Wallace has to be a contender, athough that would mean six of the 12-man team would be rookies.
Three years ago, Wallace was playing on the Alps Tour, two rungs down from the European Tour. But he has won 13 times in that span on three different circuits to rise more than 1,600 places in the rankings.
The tone for a thrilling day in Silkeborg was set by another Englishman when Matt Fitzpatrick shot a second successive 66 to fall just short in his spirited attempt to snatch the last automatic qualifying spot from Dane Thorbjorn Olesen.
‘I’m pleased I gave it a go,’ said Fitzpatrick.
Olesen deserved to hang on. The 28-year-old has enjoyed a fine summer, and no American will enjoy his fearless attitude and wonderful putting stroke.
Thereafter, it looked as if the Ryder Cup vice-captain Westwood would clinch his 24th European Tour success, four years after his last win. Over the front nine, the 45year-old looked in control in establishing a three-shot lead, and particularly given his two principal rivals were Jonathan Thomson and Steven Brown.
But it was the veteran whose nerve frayed. Suddenly the putts that were finding the bottom of the hole were coming up a foot short. Drives failed to find the fairway for the first time. Westwood played his last eight holes in one over, and that allowed his untested rivals to catch him.
Both did wonderfully well. At 6ft 9in, 22-year-old Thomson is the tallest man ever to play on the European Tour, but it’s his deft putting stroke rather than his huge hitting that caught the eye. As for Brown, he outscored his ten-time Ryder Cup partner down the stretch, and that will surely stand the 31-year-old in good stead.
So, we had what must surely be the first four-man play-off in European Tour history where all the competitors came from the same nation. At the first extra hole, it was Brown who played his approach shot first — and he stuck it to three feet. That was too much for Westwood, who was unlucky with a birdie putt that shaved the hole, and Thomson, but not for Wallace, who struck his blow to seven feet and gutsily holed the putt. Back they went to the 18th tee, where Wallace repeated his birdie heroics for a stirring success.
Over to you, Mr Bjorn. England’s Tyrrell Hatton shot a two-under-par 69 in the third round of the Dell Technologies Championship in Boston to trail tournament leader Abraham Ancer of Mexico, who carded a 65, by one shot. Hatton added a bit of spice to the day by wearing a green shirt in an effort to wind up his Rangers-daft caddie, Mark Crane, on the day Celtic beat the Ibrox side 1-0 in the Old Firm derby.