Britain's Matt Wallace was the only player to go 36 holes without a bogey, which explains why he holds a four-shot lead midway through the Omega European Masters.
Wallace, who shot a 6-under 64 on Thursday and an 8-under 62 on Friday, is on pace for the biggest win of his career. He has won four times on the DP World Tour and won the Corales Punta Cana Championship on the PGA Tour in 2023. But a win against such strong opposition in Switzerland would give him a huge confidence boost and significantly improve his standings for the Ryder Cup.
Yes, Wallace is already thinking about next year’s tournament at Bethpage Black.
“This is more than just a win; [Captain] Luke [Donald] Hopefully you play well,” Wallace said Friday.
“I want to play well, so I’m going to work hard every day to play well and the results will take care of themselves.”
Last week, Wallace tied for eighth at the Betfred British Masters in Belfry, earning him a spot on next year’s European Ryder Cup team. His 37.5-point score was his first top-10 finish since a tie for fourth at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Texas in early May. These were Wallace’s only two top-10 finishes this season.
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But Wallace's results have been trending in the right direction since making the cut at the Open. He tied for 24th at the 3M Open. Then he ended his year on the PGA Tour with a T-28 at the rain-soaked Wyndham Championship. He didn't qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs, but that has him setting his sights on the DP World Tour this fall, which gives him a chance to earn as many Ryder Cup points as possible.
A win in Switzerland this week will help him greatly as it will give him over 250 points and get the attention of Donald.
“Playing well today helped,” Wallace added.
“But I will try to get back on track. [on Saturday]”
Wallace led by four shots at the halfway point, tying the second-largest 36-hole lead in tournament history. Sam Torrence led by six shots in 1996, but Colin Montgomerie shot 61 on Saturday and 63 on Sunday to win by four shots. Meanwhile, Torrence shot a pair of 68s, but Montgomerie was unable to catch him. Hopefully, Wallace won't have to go through a similar situation.
However, despite his 62, the Englishman believes he missed a few shots on Friday. He did miss a short eagle putt on the par-5 14th. He also missed a couple of approaches from accessible distance.
“It might sound crazy, and golf is a crazy sport, but I missed some opportunities,” Wallace admitted.
“The putter didn’t let me down, but I felt like I could have done better. I tried to attack with my wedges, but it didn’t quite click. [at some points]but the 16th was the highlight of the day. I played those par 5s [on 14 and 15] It was pretty good, even though I missed the eagle putt, but that par 3 was really special. It was a great iron shot. It landed in the perfect spot and then I made a perfect putt, so I got a lot of confidence.”
Jack Milko is SB Nation's Playing Through golf columnist. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @JackMilco Same here.
