Matt Wallace was an emotional wreck after his chances of making Europe’s Ryder Cup team were damaged by a disappointing final round at the Omega European Masters in Switzerland.
Wallace arrived at Crans-sur-Sierre with a “heavy heart” earlier this week, acknowledging that he had only an outside chance of getting a captain’s pick from Luke Donald when the skipper completes his team on Monday afternoon.
The 35-year-old finished 12th on the European standings when qualifying for Bethpage ended at last week’s Betfred British Masters, where he failed to build on a bright start and closed with a 77 to slip into a tie for 33rd place.
“It’s been a year of dedication to my craft, all in the hope of trying to get a spot in Europe’s Ryder Cup team,” he said on Tuesday. “I’m coming back with such a heavy heart but one full of pride and gratitude towards my team.
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“We have given it everything. The drive and feeling I get within when the Ryder Cup is mentioned is quite surreal, especially when it’s a match I’ve never actually managed to be a part of.
“I’ve said on record that I will never stop trying to be a part of it until I quit playing golf, and that is true, but it’s difficult to put into words just how much this year meant to me.”
But, at the back of his mind, he knew that he could force his way into Donald’s thinking if he could successfully defend his title, and he looked on course to do so with five holes to play until a woeful error gifted the momentum to Thriston Lawrence, who ran out a two-shot winner.
Wallace came to grief at the long 14th as he attempted to reach the green in two, but he blocked his second shot into a water hazard and made bogey to fall three shots behind the South African.
“It was a good week, could have been a couple better, but that shot into 14 today really killed me,” said Wallace in his post-round interview. “But I gave it my all and hit some good shots coming in.
“Thriston played great and didn’t give anything away, and to do that after his first three holes was pretty impressive, to be fair. He’s such an aggressive player, and that drive he hit on the sixth was probably the shot of the week. That really got him going and full credit to him, he deserved to win this one.”
But Wallace was then asked about his Ryder Cup hopes, and he could not hold back the tears as the realisation dawned on him that he is unlikely to be among Donald’s six captain’s picks on Monday.
After trying to gather himself in his emotion-charged live interview, Wallace eventually managed to say: “I will never give up on the Ryder Cup, I just won’t. That’s it.”
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