Matt Wallace wreaked havoc in the third round of the ongoing DP World Tour Championship, holing nine back-to-back birdies on the back nine. Additionally, he sank three birdies in the first nine holes, finishing the day at 12-under-60.
Before the third day at the Jumeirah Golf Estates Golf & Country Club, Wallace was positioned at T21 after shooting 72 and 68 in the first two rounds. At 4-under, he was still seven strokes behind the lead. However, with the low round on Saturday (November 18), he has now jumped to the top and has a single-stroke lead so far.
By making nine straight birdies, Matt Wallace has equaled the European Tour record set by James Nitties of Australia, who accomplished it in the 2019 Vic Open. He has also matched the record for the most birdies in a single round on the DP World Tour, last achieved by Raphaël Jacquelin, who sank 12 birdies during the 2013 Turkish Open.
"What a day, an amazing day," said Wallace as per ASAP Sports. "Just tried my hardest to get myself back into the tournament. I'm really happy that I've been able to do that. Played great.
"At the end, I didn't even think there was a 59. Honestly I think it helped me a little bit. I just played nicely coming down the stretch, just keep getting one more if I could and I managed to do that," he concluded.
Matt Wallace is in search of his fifth title on the European Tour and his first since Made in Denmark in 2019. He secured his debut title in 2017 after claiming the Portugal Open, where he defeated Julian Suri by three strokes.
Here are Wallace's four wins on the DP World Tour:
- 2017: Open de Portugal
- 2018: Hero Indian Open, BMW International Open, Made in Denmark
Earlier this year, Wallace also clinched his first-ever title on the PGA Tour by triumphing at the Corales Puntacana Championship, where he edged out Nicolai Hojgard by a single-stroke margin. Besides, he also made a T7 finish at the Valspar Championship.
How did Matt Wallace perform this year? Golfer's results in the 2022–23 season explored
Here's a look at Matt Wallace's performances in the 2022–23 season:
PGA Tour
2022:
- Fortinet Championship: T21
- Shriners Children's Open: T28
- ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP: T64
2023:
- World Wide Technology Championship: CUT
- Cadence Bank Houston Open: CUT
- The RSM Classic: CUT
- WM Phoenix Open: CUT
- The Genesis Invitational: CUT
- The Honda Classic: T29
- THE PLAYERS Championship: CUT
- Valspar Championship: T7
- Corales Puntacana Championship: 1
- Valero Texas Open: T28
- RBC Heritage: CUT
- Zurich Classic of New Orleans: CUT
- Mexico Open at Vidanta: CUT
- Wells Fargo Championship: CUT
- PGA Championship: T65
- Charles Schwab Challenge: CUT
- the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday: T48
- Travelers Championship: CUT
- Rocket Mortgage Classic: T78
- Genesis Scottish Open: T42
- The Open Championship: CUT
- 3M Open: T43
- Wyndham Championship: T45
- Shriners Children's Open: T28
- ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP: T68
DP World Tour:
- Horizon Irish Open: 61T
- BMW PGA Championship: 57T
- Alfred Dunhill Links Championship: 6T
- Commercial Bank Qatar Masters: 9T
- Nedbank Golf Challenge: 15T