Hertfordshire professional Matt Wallace’s hopes of securing a place at final qualifying for the European Tour have ended in disappointment after he finished well down the field at the second qualifying stage in Spain.
The Moor Park professional had put himself into early contention with a four-under-par opening round of 67 at Lumine Golf and Beach Club at Tarragona, but a second round of 76 saw him slip back to one-over.
The 26-year-old lost further ground with a three-over-par third round of 74 and he was forced to settle for a tournament total of eight-over-par after carding a final round 75.
Despite missing out on the chance to gain a European Tour card, the Pinner-based professional’s career is set to continue in an upward direction after he secured a place on the Challenge Tour following a memorable Alps Tour season which saw him finish top of the order of merit with six tournament victories.
These performances helped secure invites to two European Tour events this year and Wallace will be hoping more follow in 2017, while his decision to sign for Chubby Chandler’s International Sports Management could also help him secure further tour starts.
Chandler, who signed up Wallace to his management company during last month’s British Masters at The Grove, said: “Matt has lots of potential. He has the ability to shoot low, and more importantly, the desire to win. We are about trying to find lads that want to win, and Matt has that belief in him. There’s no point starting out unless you think you’re that good. The difference is some guys really believe it and some guys think they believe it, and I’ve got a feeling he really believes it.”