Matt Wallace fired a bogey-free round of 65 on Sunday to capture his second European Tour title of the season at the BMW International Open.
The Englishman ended the third round at Golf Club Gut Laerchenhof just two shots off the lead, but after Thorbjorn Olesen set the clubhouse mark at 9-under par with a tournament-record 61 in the morning, Wallace’s deficit grew to four after making the turn in 34 to sit 5 under.
Wallace, though, went on a birdie binge of his own, carding five gains in a seven-hole stretch (Nos. 10-16), to secure the clubhouse mark at 10-under par 278, one clear of the Olesen’s 279.
The 28-year old form Hillingdon, England then waited as the home hero Martin Kaymer put on the pressure and got to 9-under par after a birdie on the par-5 15th. The two-time major winner, though, bogeyed the short par-4 17th to effectively end any chances of breaking, what is now, a four-year winless drought. A birdie on the 18th offset his lost shot, and moved Kaymer back to 9-under par.
Recent Shot Clock Masters winner Mikko Korhonen also had Wallace sweating after carding three-straight birdies on the closing holes (Nos. 15-17) to reach 9-under par, but a final-hole par ended the Finn’s chances as well.
The win was Wallace’s second of the season, and third of his European Tour career. He earned $387,500, along with 24 world-ranking points, which will move him from 91st to inside the top 70 – the best ranking of his career.
“Brilliant to win here in Germany,” said Wallace, who won the Hero Indian Open earlier this season. “The BMW is such a great event and to play against the likes of Martin Kaymer and the guys at the top there, it’s great.
“I work hard for this. I believe I can do it. I want to go further, I want to keep building on this. Obviously this gives me a lot of confidence to go on and play well and I want to kick on and hopefully do this in the bigger events from now on.
“This is great, this is a step in the right direction. We’ll keep working hard to bigger and better things.”
England’s Aaron Rai and Dane Lucas Bjerregaard were T5 at 8 under after matching 69s, a shot clear of Bjerregaard’s compatriot in Soren Kjeldsen (68) and Aussie veteran Scott Hend (70).
England’s Andy Sullivan, Spain’s Nacho Elvira, and South African Justin Walters were 6 under.
FINAL TOP 10
1. Matt Wallace -10 (73-69-71-65)
2. Martin Kaymer -9 (72-68-71-68)
2. Mikko Korhonen -9 (71-72-69-67)
2. Thorbjorn Olesen -9 (73-68-77-61)
5. Lucas Bjerregaard -8 (72-72-67-69)
5. Aaron Rai -8 (69-71-71-69)
7. Scott Hend -7 (71-67-73-70)
7. Soren Kjeldsen -7 (72-69-72-68)
9. Elvira Nacho -6 (71-73-73-65)
9. Andy Sullivan -6 (71-72-70-69)
9. Justin Walters -6 (76-67-75-64)
TOP CASHERS
1st – $387,500 (Wallace)
T2 – $173,375 each (Kaymer, Olesen, Korhonen)
T5 – $89,978 each (Bjerregaard, Rai)
T7 – $63,938 each (Hend, Kjeldsen)
T9 – $47,120 each (Nacho, Sullivan, Walter)
PHOTO: RECORD-SETTING SCORECARD
The record-breaking round of 61 of Thorbjorn Olesen.
EARLY-ROUND POSITIONING
ROUND ONE
1. Sebastien Gros -4 (68)
2. Aaron Rai -3 (69)
2. Henric Sturehed -3 (69)
2. Scott Jamieson -3 (69)
2. Jorge Campillo -3 (69)
35. Matt Wallace +1 (73)
ROUND TWO
1. Scott Hend -6 (71-67)
2. Henric Sturehed -5 (69-70)
2. Nicolas Geyger -5 (70-69)
11. Matt Wallace -2 (73-69)
ROUND THREE
1. Lucas Bjerregaard -5 (72-72-67)
1. Chris Paisley -5 (72-71-68)
1. Martin Kaymer -5 (72-68-71)
1. Aaron Rai -5 (69-71-71)
1. Maximilian Kieffer -5 (71-69-71)
1. Scott Hend -5 (71-67-73)
9. Matt Wallace -2 (73-69-71)
WINNING STATS
Driving Distance: 300.0 yards (9th)
Fairways-Hit: 24/56, 44.6% (61st)
Greens-Hit: 57/72, 79.2% (1st)
Putts/GIR: 106/1.857 (67th)
Par-3 Scoring: -2 (2 Birdies, 14 Pars)
Par-4 Scoring: -2 (7 Birdies, 29 Pars, 3 Bogeys, 1 Double Bogey)
Par-5 Scoring: -6 (7 Birdies, 8 Pars, 1 Bogey)
Total Scoring: 16 Birdies, 52 Pars, 3 Bogeys, 1 Double Bogey
QUOTABLE
HARD WORK. BIGGER GOALS.
“I work hard for this. I believe I can do it. I want to go further, I want to keep building on this. Obviously this gives me a lot of confidence to go on and play well and I want to kick on and hopefully do this in the bigger events from now on.”
– Matt Wallace
