Matt Wallace is determined to use the support of home crowds in his pursuit of a statement win at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo to boost his ambitions of playing at next month’s Ryder Cup.
The Englishman has made plain his desire to be in Luke Donald’s 12-man team at Bethpage, New York but comes into the final event of the qualification process with that out of his hands.
But with Wallace set to defend his title at the Omega European Masters in Switzerland next week, he is doing everything in his power to be in the equation when the European side is finalised with the announcement of the six Captain’s Picks on September 1.
Backing up a bogey-free 68 in the first round with a 69 on Friday, the five-time DP World Tour winner sits in a share of second, two shots adrift of clubhouse leader Marcel Siem through his opening 36 holes.
Despite the opportunity to lay down a marker in his last-gasp quest to impress, Wallace is not feeling any weight of emotional pressure.
“I try and play my best golf every single week, every single day," said Wallace.
"Who knows, that might change on Sunday if I'm in contention again, but this is like our home tournament.
“So, for me it is to try and deliver for the crowd here, the support has been amazing this week.
"If I can carry on doing what I'm doing and hopefully give them a ride for the week, try and win a tournament and then give Luke a headache.”
Wallace laboured to a disappointing 81 in the final round to finish in a tie for 64th at last week’s Danish Golf Championship but has spoken of his happiness at seeing his hard work since being rewarded with a strong showing of ball striking over the opening two days at The Belfry Hotel & Resort.
Beginning his second round at the tenth, Wallace made back-to-back birdies to quickly move into a share of the overnight lead at six under before an errant tee shot at the 16th led to his first dropped shot of the day.
Three birdies on the spin from the second through to the fourth saw him climb to eight under, before he found the penalty area off the tee at the eighth and had to take a drop on his way to a “great bogey.”
With the likelihood Team Europe will feature a majority of the team that won the Ryder Cup two years ago in Rome, Wallace is aware all he can do is be performing near his best.
“The team is going to be strong without me there anyway,” he added. “So if I can force my way in, I'll be playing great golf.
“I'm there just to try and play the best golf I can this week, try and win a tournament, and like I say, I can't get into the team automatically, so it would have to be a pick.
“I have to play some great golf. So let's go and do that this weekend.”
