Interviews with professional athletes don't get much more candid than the one golfer Matt Wallace gave following his disappointing performance at the Genesis Scottish Open on Friday.
Wallace had a chance to make the cut on his final two holes on Friday. But needing to be one under par on both holes, Wallace bogeyed both holes. With that score, he was two over par for Friday and even par for the tournament, just three shots away from the cut. He walked into the green room shortly after the round ended.
What is a green room? A green room is a facility used on the DP World Tour (FKA, European Tour) where golfers sit alone in a room facing a camera. A computer-generated voice then asks questions. It feels like in this environment, golfers might be more willing to open up.
That’s exactly what happened to Wallace.
As soon as he sat down, Wallace said, “Oh, dear.”
“Hi, Matt,” the voice said. “Welcome to the Green Room. Is this your first time here?”
“First time,” Wallace confirmed. He then went straight to his performance. “It was a bad performance right after I signed my card. Didn't expect them to come so soon. Yeah. Frustrating.”
When asked what he wanted to say most, Wallace focused on the mental aspect of the game.
“I'm trying to change my attitude towards the game and be more positive about it,” he said. “I'm just lacking confidence right now. Yeah, it's hard.”
Wallace was then asked, “Do you want to talk about how you feel? What's on your mind?”
“I'm not as high as I want to be, you know? In the game,” he responded. “You can't force yourself. You have to let it happen. That's what I'm doing right now. Working hard every day. That's the way it is. The game doesn't owe you anything. I don't like to get emotional. But as everyone knows, I'm a pretty emotional guy. Yeah. It's hard.”
Raw, honest, vulnerable. @mattsjwallace After missing the cut this week, he was brave enough to speak publicly about the ups and downs of professional golf.#GenesisScottishOpen | #Rolex Series pic.twitter.com/Hfft7eeqm7
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 12, 2024
When Wallace was asked if he had anything else to say, he affirmed that he is an emotional person and a golfer, but he also had a positive message for fans.
“Everybody knows I'm an emotional person. I'm going to do the best I can. Some people don't like how I do it. But I'm always trying to improve myself and try to be the best I can be. To all the people who support me, we'll be back. We'll get there.”
[DP World Tour on X]
