"Let me do it, I'm the referee" - Official forces Matt Wallace to stop talking in hilarious TIO fiasco with Andrew Johnston at Omega European Masters

Matt Wallace and Andrew Johnston found themselves in a bit of a debate during the Omega European Masters. The two golfers were playing partners, and Johnston needed to decide what rule he would invoke and what his options were with a difficult and controversial lie.

Wallace was guiding him through the options, indicating what two things he could do from his present situation. The only problem was that he was not an official, so he wasn't supposed to be the one talking.

"There's two rules... one where you take from it and then two, from there. As in, you'd get to the nearest point and then two club lengths. It's the new rule. So it's not a swing," Wallace said.

The referee interrupted Wallace to say:

"Let me do it, I'm the referee."

Everyone laughed as the golfer agreed to back off. Even Johnston laughed, saying he doubled as a ref and a comedian. The ref said:

"So you have two possibilities. The TIO rule or the immovable obstruction rule."

He detailed what those entailed, presenting the golfer with the options. Eventually, Johnston made his decision. It may have played a huge role in the outcome.

Johnston ended up shooting -10, which was one shy of the lead. Wallace won in a playoff after tying with Alfredo Garcia-Heredia at 11 under par. If Johnston had also been tied, which may have been impacted by his decision earlier, things may have turned out differently.

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Matt Wallace opens up on ending drought

Matt Wallace won the Omega European Masters in a playoff (Getty)

Matt Wallace hadn't won on the DP World Tour in six years. That changed on Sunday, though it was not without difficulty. He had to endure a comeback from Alfredo Garcia-Heredia and a tense playoff, but he did earn the win. He said via NBC Sports:

“That was a hard day, man. It wasn’t easy. I felt like there was a score out there, but I just couldn’t get anything going. … I’ve been playing great, and you don’t want to give it away, and I could’ve easily lost it a few times the last couple days, especially yesterday with how hard it was playing."

Wallace stuck to it and said that was him to a tee, and it's classic golf. He added that it was "Matt Wallace golf right there." It only took one hole, as he rebounded and birdied the first playoff to win. It was the closest he'd been since a 2022 playoff loss to Thriston Lawrence in the same tournament. He admitted that he wasn't focused that day, but focused enough to birdie and win two years later.