Englishman Matt Wallace is the only player not to have a bogey through 36 holes, which explains why he holds a four-shot lead at the midway point of the Omega European Masters.
Wallace followed up a brilliant 6-under 64 on Thursday with an 8-under 62 on Friday as he eyes what would be the biggest win of his career. He has four career DP World Tour wins, and he won the Corales Puntacana Championship in 2023 on the PGA Tour. But a victory over this strong field in Switzerland would give him a healthy dose of confidence and a significant boost in the Ryder Cup standings.
Yes, Wallace already has next year’s competition at Bethpage Black on his mind.
“It’s not just the win; it’s playing well. [Captain] Luke [Donald] wants you to play well,” Wallace said Friday.
“And I want to play well, so I am going to try and play well every single day, and what comes from it, comes from it.”
Wallace tied for eighth at last week’s Betfred British Masters at The Belfry, which began the qualification process for next year’s European Ryder Cup team. He earned 37.5 points for his top 10 finish, his first top 10 since early May, when he tied for fourth at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Texas. Those are the only two top-10 finishes Wallace has recorded this season.
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But since making the cut at The Open, Wallace has trended in the right direction. He tied for 24th at the 3M Open. Then, he concluded his year on the PGA Tour with a T-28 at the rain-soaked Wyndham Championship. He did not qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, but that has allowed him to set his sights on the DP World Tour this fall, which gives him an opportunity to rack up as many Ryder Cup points as possible.
A win in Switzerland this week would go a long way in that regard, as it would give him 250 more points and draw the attention of Donald.
“Playing well like I did today helps,” Wallace added.
“But I am going to try and get back to it [on Saturday].”
Wallace’s four-shot lead at the midway point ties the second-biggest 36-hole lead in this championship’s history. Sam Torrance held a six-shot advantage in 1996, but Colin Montgomerie carded a 61 and a 63 on Saturday and Sunday to win by four. Torrance, meanwhile, posted a pair of 68s but could do nothing about Montgomerie passing him by. Hopefully, for Wallace’s sake, he does not experience something similar.
Yet, the Englishman, despite shooting a 62, believes he left a couple of shots out there on Friday. He did miss a short eagle putt on the par-5 14th. He also missed a couple of approaches from attackable distances.
“It’s going to sound crazy, and golf is a crazy game, but I missed a few chances. I really did,” Wallace admitted.
“Putter didn’t let me down, but I felt I could have done more. I was trying to be aggressive with my wedges and didn’t quite pull it off [at some points], but that one on 16 was the hole of the day, really. I played those par-5s [on 14 and 15] pretty good, even though I missed that putt for eagle, but that par-3 was really special. It was a great iron shot. it landed in the perfect spot, and then I hit the perfect putt so a lot of confidence taken from that.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
