Matt Wallace had an epic back-nine birdie spree to take the lead in the final round of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. He was seven strokes behind coming into the weekend, but a 12-under 60 on Saturday propelled him to 16 under, putting him ahead of a crowded leaderboard. His nine consecutive birdies and a total of 12 birdies on the back nine equalled historic bests on the DP World Tour, although they won’t be recorded due to preferred lies being used during the third round.
Ryder Cup stars Viktor Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood are tied for second place after both carding 66s on a low-scoring day. Jeff Winter holds fourth spot, followed by Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson and overnight leader Nicolai Hojgaard.
Wallace’s birdie spree began with a 10-foot putt at the par-five second hole, followed by a 10-foot putt at the sixth. He then made a 12-foot putt at the eighth and reached the turn in 33. His incredible scoring burst continued with birdies from 30 feet at the 10th and 20 feet at the next hole. He added further birdies from six feet at the 12th and close range at the 13th, bringing him within two of the lead.
Wallace’s remarkable performance continued with a two-putt from 40 feet at the 14th and tap-in range approaches on the next two holes. A six-foot birdie at the 17th moved him to the top of the leaderboard, raising the possibility of a ’59 round’. Although he narrowly missed holing out for eagle on the last hole, a tap-in birdie matched the DP World Tour bests for most birdies made in one round and most consecutive birdies.
After his outstanding performance, Wallace said, “What a day, an amazing day. I just tried my hardest to get myself back in the tournament. I played great there and at the end there I didn’t even think that it was for a 59, honestly. I think it helped me a little bit, but I just played really nicely down the stretch.”
Stay tuned for more updates on the DP World Tour Championship, live on Sky Sports throughout the week. Live coverage continues Sunday from 6.30am on Sky Sports Golf.