England’s Matt Wallace held his nerve in a play-off to register his first DP World Tour win in six years with a dramatic victory on the Omega European Masters.
Wallace started the day with a four-shot lead however when enjoying accomplice Alfredo Garcia-Heredia birdied the final to affix him on 11 underneath, the pair needed to return to the 18th tee for a further gap in Crans-sur-Sierre.
Confronted with a near-identical strategy shot to the one in regulation play simply minutes earlier, Wallace hit it to inside eight toes – some 15ft nearer than his earlier effort – to place the strain again on his opponent, who had seized the momentum along with his final-hole birdie.
The 42-year-old Spaniard – whose 132-event await a maiden win continues – couldn’t gap his birdie try from 18ft and Wallace roared with reduction when his putt dropped, preventing again the tears in his post-round interview.
“That’s a hard day,” Wallace informed Sky Sports activities after a level-par 70. “I felt like I performed alright. I felt there was a rating on the market however I could not get something going. I simply saved pushing and Alfredo did what he needed to do on the finish there.
“It’s a lot easier to make birdie when you need to on the last. I’ve been playing great and you don’t want to give it away. I stuck at it.”
How Wallace held on for Swiss victory
The wind, which destroyed scores on day three, had been changed by rain nevertheless it didn’t make it any simpler for Wallace – winner of the Corales Puntacana Championship on the PGA Tour final 12 months – who drove up towards a tree on the first to make bogey.
Wallace ended a run of pars with a birdie on the driveable par-four seventh, the place enjoying accomplice Andrew “Beef” Johnston – additionally made three there and holed a 17-foot putt on the subsequent to scale back the result in three.
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Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston says he was ‘delighted’ at ending third within the European Masters getting back from harm and going through psychological well being struggles over the previous couple of years
He bogeyed the par-five ninth to place Wallace 4 forward when play was delayed by 25 minutes on the twelfth tee attributable to rolling fog, just for Garcia-Heredia to cost again into competition with three birdies in a four-hole stretch.
Johnston additionally posted back-to-back birdies from the 14th to get inside one in every of Wallace, who cancelled out a birdie on the fifteenth with a dropped shot on the subsequent, however was unable to match Garcia-Heredia’s sensible birdie on the final and make it a three-way play-off.
Wallace’s play-off victory is his fifth DP World Tour title and first because the 2018 Made in Denmark, with the success additionally placing him because the early lead within the race to qualify for Europe’s subsequent Ryder Cup staff.
A 3rd-place end is Johnston’s finest on the DP World Tour since August 2020, have seen accidents and lengthy stretches away from aggressive golf leaving him enjoying on a membership exemption this season.
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World No 862 Cedric Gugler completed tied-fourth on residence soil alongside Jason Scrivener, whereas Alex Fitzpatrick claimed a share of sixth place with Joost Luiten.
What’s subsequent?
The DP World Tour heads to Northern Eire for the Amgen Irish Open, held at Royal County Down GC, the place Rory McIlroy headlines and Shane Lowry additionally options. Stay protection begins on Thursday from 1pm on Sky Sports activities Golf and Sky Sports activities Foremost Occasion.
Sky Sports activities+ has formally launched and will likely be built-in into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports activities app, giving Sky Sports activities clients entry to over 50 per cent extra stay sport this 12 months at no additional price. Discover out extra right here.
