Hertfordshire’s Matt Wallace won a four-man play-off to capture his third European Tour title of the season at the Made in Denmark tournament.
The Moor Park man birdied five of his last six holes at Silkeborg Ry Golf Club to close with a 67 to get to 19 under alongside Steven Brown, Jonathan Thomson and Lee Westwood, before birdies on both extra holes earned him a stunning fourth career victory on Europe’s top tour.
Brown and Wallace both put their approaches inside six feet on the first play-off hole for a pair of birdies, before Wallace went even closer on the next, with Brown only able to make a par.
The win, which came with a first prize of €250,000, moved Wallace up to 17 in the Race to Dubai rankings and to 52 in world rankings – the first time he has broken into the top 60.
Wallace, who also won the Indian Open in March and the BMW International Open in June, said: “I’m absolutely ecstatic. The hard work has paid off once again. I showed plenty of determination and grit out there, and I’m delighted to have pulled off the win. You need to putt well to win out here, and I’ve found a way to put myself under pressure in practice, and then it comes up trumps on a Sunday.”
With one eye on a Ryder Cup wildcard spot, Wallace added: “I think I have given Thomas [Bjørn] something to think about. That was the plan. I put myself under pressure by saying that I wanted to give him a headache. I’ve stepped up to the mark and I’ve shown him exactly what I’m about. If he doesn’t pick me, then that’s absolutely fine, but I’ve shown him everything that I’m about, and if he picks me then he knows what he’s going to get.”
While the European captain’s wildcard choices are to be announced on Wednesday (Sept 5), the battle for the final automatic qualifying place in Paris was won by Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen, whose 11-under-par total was good enough to hold off the challenge of Matt Fitzpatrick, and the Dane will now make his Ryder Cup debut at the end of the month alongside Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Rory McIlroy, Francesco Molinari, Alex Noren, Jon Rahm and Justin Rose.