Published on March 11, 2018

Wallace Takes Second Title with Playoff Victory in India

NEW DELHI, INDIA – MARCH 11: Matt Wallace of England poses for a picture with the trophy after winning the playoff during day four of The Hero Indian Open at DLF Golf and Country Club on March 11, 2018 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

 

Matt Wallace won his second European Tour title with a dramatic play-off victory over Andrew Johnston at the Hero Indian Open.

The Englishman entered the day at Delhi’s DLF Golf and Country Club in a share of the lead alongside local hero Shubhankar Sharma, and a closing 68 got him to 11 under par – a total matched by compatriot Johnston who recorded an impressive bogey-free round of 66.

Wallace hit a huge drive down the 18th on the first extra hole, and when Johnston laid up and saw his birdie putt agonisingly lip out, the 27-year-old had two putts for the title after hitting a brilliant second shot onto the green.

He rolled his first up to the side of the hole and tapped home to seal a second victory in as many seasons after going wire to wire to seal his maiden European Tour title last May in the Open de Portugal at Morgado Golf Resort.

“I’m ecstatic. I just played some amazing golf. Beef really had a great round today because I was playing fantastic and thought I might have been a few more clear.

“I hit some really good shots in that play-off. I pumped it down there on the last and it went a long way and then the four iron went even further than I thought it would so I was jacked up a bit. To hit two shots like that is exactly why I play the game.

“With the people that were coming up behind me, there were some real class players. Beef’s putt on the last should have gone in and it’s just been my day today.

“There are some great champions. SSP (Chawrasia) held it for a couple of years there and I am so happy to get my name on the trophy,” said Wallace.

American Sihwan Kim finished the day at eight under par, a shot clear of Spain’s Pablo Larrazábal and Matthias Schwab of Austria, with Argentinian Emiliano Grillo at five under par.

Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex leader Sharma slipped out of contention early in the day with double-bogies on holes five and seven, eventually signing for a 75 to finish at four under par alongside Scot Stephen Gallacher.

2017 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Gavin Green of Malaysia ended the Hero Indian Open on a bright note, scoring seven birdies including four successive ones from holes 14th to 17th and signing for a 71 to finish in tied-16th.

“I made some good putts. Although, a few bad tee shots had cost me during the round. It was an average week and I wished I had played better. I love India and I will want to come back next year.

“Towards the end of the round, the putts started to drop and I thought to myself, ‘OK, this isn’t too bad.’ This course is tough, so to walk away with even par is pretty decent.

“I’ve made changes to my game and it’s working out so far. Compared to last week, this week a lot better for me. I struck the ball a lot better, my short game got a little strong. I just have to work on my drives, hopefully before my next event.

“I’ll be taking a nice break, then probably head over to Morocco and Spain. But for now, I’m going to chill out, have fun and enjoy my break,” said Green.

Final round scores

277 M Wallace (Eng) 69 70 70 68, A Johnston (Eng) 72 66 73 66,
280 S Kim (USA) 70 70 72 68,
281 P Larrazábal (Esp) 67 71 74 69, M Schwab  (Aut) 71 72 68 70,
283 E Grillo (Arg) 65 68 78 72,
284 S Gallacher (Sco) 72 71 67 74, S Sharma (Ind) 73 64 72 75,
286 J Luiten (Ned) 71 69 74 72, A Rai (Eng) 71 73 69 73, J Choi (Kor) 72 71 72 71,
287 H Tanihara (Jpn) 74 68 72 73, K Horne (RSA) 66 73 80 68, C Sordet  (Fra) 72 72 71 72, R Rock (Eng) 73 73 74 67,
288 J Morrison  (Eng) 70 72 77 69, S Brown (Eng) 74 71 70 73, P Pittayarat (Tha) 69 70 76 73, R Gouveia (Por) 69 73 71 75, G Green  (Mas) 69 73 75 71, J Dantorp (Swe) 69 70 79 70,
289 C O’Toole (USA) 74 66 77 72,
290 P Peterson (USA) 67 73 73 77, G Havret  (Fra) 73 72 73 72,
291 S Gros (Fra) 69 71 76 75, A Wall (Eng) 71 73 72 75, C Shih-Chang (Tpe) 71 71 75 74, W Ormsby (Aus) 71 72 78 70, J Todd (USA) 72 74 70 75,
292 A Chesters  (Eng) 74 71 76 71, D Boonma (Tha) 71 76 70 75,
293 J Randhawa (Ind) 72 72 76 73, K Kaul (am) (Ind) 70 76 77 70,
294 T Bjørn (Den) 70 72 79 73, R Evans  (Eng) 76 71 77 70, S Fernandez  (Esp) 73 73 77 71, J Donaldson (Wal) 71 70 74 79, N Srithong (Tha) 76 70 74 74, A Lahiri (Ind) 72 73 75 74,
295 K Joshi (Ind) 72 68 81 74, N Elvira  (Esp) 75 72 75 73, A Sandhu (Ind) 68 76 74 77, J Scrivener (Aus) 73 74 75 73, W Liang (Chn) 75 72 75 73, J Wang (Kor) 69 71 78 77,
296 K Kitayama (USA) 72 71 83 70, Y Chang (Kor) 73 72 78 73,
297 C Wood  (Eng) 77 69 75 76, N Fung (Mas) 69 73 80 75, K Kochhar (Ind) 75 72 76 74,
298 M Shin (USA) 73 73 77 75,
299 U Mane (Ind) 72 75 79 73,
300 S Lee (Kor) 71 75 83 71, D Gleeson (Aus) 75 70 77 78, A Wu (Chn) 72 74 83 71, M Warren (Sco) 68 72 86 74,
302 E Molinari  (Ita) 71 72 77 82, P Meesawat  (Tha) 72 73 79 78, M Manassero (Ita) 67 79 78 78,
303 G Storm  (Eng) 79 68 80 76, M Fraser (Aus) 73 73 76 81,
305 A Saddier (Fra) 67 78 81 79,
307 D Clarke (Nir) 72 73 83 79,
311 A Que (Phi) 76 71 84 80, S Yongcharoenchai (Tha) 75 71 84 81,
312 L Weber (Fra) 73 74 84 81,

 

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