Matt Wallace had to battle hard to earn his first DP World Tour title in six years after needing a play-off to defeat Alfredo Garcia-Heredia at the 2024 Omega European Masters.
The lone Irishman in the field, Gary Hurley, shot a final-round level-par 70 to end the week tied for 56th at +2.
A rough start saw Hurley cover the opening eight in +4 thanks to a double bogey and two bogeys, but back-to-back birdies on nine and 10, and a further three in a row from the 13th with another bogey on 11 saw him claw his way back to level par for the day. He traded one more birdie and one more bogey from there, ending the week on a high note with a birdie at the last hole and he’ll head for Royal County Down with some pep in his step having made his first DP World Tour cut since the final week of 2022.
But in the end, it was Wallace’s week. The Englishman showed his class at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club by being the only player to be blemish-free after the first two rounds to lead by four heading into the weekend.
Brutal winds on Moving Day meant only three players in the field carded under par rounds, but Wallace negotiated the elements to maintain his four-shot advantage despite a three-over 73.
The 34-year-old endured a nervy final round, coming home in level par, while his Spanish playing partner produced a brilliant approach to birdie the last and force the sixth play-off of the campaign after both players finished at 11 under.
They found the fairway to start the extra hole before landing on the green with their second shots. Garcia-Heredia pushed his lengthy birdie putt left of the cup while Wallace had eight feet, which he drained with confidence to get back in the winner’s circle.
It is the fifth DP World Tour crown of his career, but his first victory since the 2018 Made In Denmark which came six years and six days ago, and he moves to the top of the European Ryder Cup Team Qualification List.
“Knackered, that was a hard day,” said a delighted and relieved Wallace in the immediate aftermath. “It wasn’t easy, but I felt there was a score out there but couldn’t get anything going.
“Good drives then mess it up, the ninth I messed that up to take an advantage into the back nine. I just kept pushing and pushing.
“It was bringing back memories of two years ago when I lost, I wasn’t quite focused then but that’s focus for me right there. I’m buzzing.
“I had the lead and I could have easily lost it a few times in the last couple of days, especially yesterday with how hard it was playing. But I stuck at it and that’s me, and that’s golf. For me, that’s Matt Wallace golf right there.
“That cheer at the end meant a lot. It was hard because I have been in those situations but I have no been ahead a lot of the day and struggling to make birdies. It was difficult to try and push to make birdies without giving it away sort of thing, and I wanted someone to catch me which Alfredo did and Beef (Andrew Johnston) was very close.
“Fair play to Alfredo for doing it there on the last hole, but all I was saying to myself was it is a lot easier to make birdie when you have to do it, and that is what I just did at the end there so I am very happy with that.
“I took everything from what I learnt last time in the play-off going back down there. Graham (Chase) was there, my manager just getting me in the right headspace because last time I went down there for the play-off against Thriston (Lawrence) I wasn’t in the right headspace, I was just ok being there, whereas this time I wanted to win.
“It feels amazing. It is just so special, its an iconic golf course, I have had good results around here over the years, and a lot of emotional things happen to me. Obviously not getting into the Ryder Cup in 2018, that was the phone call I had down by the driving range. Lost in a play-off here, skied with my parents here when I was about five or six years old supposedly, and now a champion here. It is really cool.”
Andrew Johnston was in sole third at ten under, while Cedric Gugler delighted the home fans with a share of fourth after bouncing back from a bogey at the second with an eagle and two birdies to join Jason Scrivener at eight under.
Alex Fitzpatrick and Dutchman Joost Luiten were one shot further back, while Sweden’s Henrik Norlander, South African Casey Jarvis, Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino and Italian Guido Migliozzi finished at six under.