Matt Wallace reflects on the "difficulty" of adapting to life on the PGA Tour

Modified Oct 29, 2024 11:36 GMT

PGA: 3M Open - Third Round - Source: Imagn — Matt Wallace )Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images)

Matt Wallace spoke last week on the "difficulty" of adapting to life on the PGA Tour. Wallace turned professional in 2012 and joined the PGA Tour in 2020. He played on the Alps Tour and the Challenge Tour, before joining the European Tour in 2018.

Appearing on an episode of the "Sky Sports Golf" podcast, released last week, Wallace was asked how easy or difficult he found the transition to the PGA Tour, especially off the course. Wallace said:

"I had some good people around me and good information and at the time, Chubby Chandler was my manager, Graham (Chase), who's now my manager was involved in ISM. And I mean, they managed the best players in the world that came from Europe to go over to America" [14:50].

The English player added that his team arranged for him to rent a place in the USA. He established a practice routine and had the flexibility to return home as needed. He further said:

"So at the time, I found it really easy, you know, I found the transition really simple. And I loved practising in America, I loved the weather. So I obviously ended up in Jupiter and I was at the Medalist [...] And I got really close with the members there and it just became like home to me. So it was really nice" [15:26].

Since joining the PGA Tour, Matt Wallace has only won one tournament.

Talking about his early experience on the PGA Tour, he said:

"The golf was very difficult. The golf was completely different to the European Tour, the DP World Tour, where I just found, like, my iron play used to be okay, but it wasn't like the main thing that I was great at. I was decent at driving the ball and putting basically on the European Tour. That's what Dave McNeilly [his caddie] told me and taught me when he came on my bag was, 'you drive it well and putt well on this tour, you're going to win.' And we did that" [15:50].

Wallace added that he soon realized the importance of hitting the greens. He said that despite a strong short game, missing greens made it difficult to save par. He said that he learned from observing Tommy Fleetwood and Brooks Koepka, as their advantage came from consistently hitting greens from longer distances of 150-175 yards.

Therefore, he decided to focus on improving his iron play. He further said:

"And I believe I'm up there now with my ball striking with irons[...]improve my accuracy with my driving, which I've seen, but my putting's still there, short game player. So it's really nice to have everything sort of up to scratch at some moments in the year. I just need to improve a little bit on a few areas" (16:58).

Matt Wallace is currently positioned 125th in the FedExCup Fall standings. He has one top-10 finish and four top-25 finishes this year. With three FedExCup Fall events to go, he'll be looking to confirm his PGA Tour card for next season.

How has Matt Wallace performed on the PGA Tour?

Matt Wallace has played 116 tournaments on the PGA Tour. He has one PGA Tour win, six top-5 finishes, and 10 top-10 finishes. From 116 starts, he has made 70 cuts. Since then, he has officially made $6,940,230.

Wallace won the 2023 Corales Puntacana Championship by one stroke over Nicolai Hojgaard. His other notable finishes include a T3 at the 2019 PGA Championship, a T4 at the 2020 Memorial Tournament, and a third-place finish at the Valero Texas Open.

Let's take a look at Matt Wallace's performances on the PGA Tour: