DUBAI: This season's triple European Tour winning Matt Wallace scored an excellent bogey-free 65 at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai on Friday to lead the season-ending tournament going into today’s third round.
The Englishman is seeking a fourth European Tour title of the season — a win that would make him the 14th player to win four times or more in a season, and the first since Alex Noren in 2016 — but faces stiff competition from the field.
Fellow Englishman Danny Willett shot a 67 to sit in second place at ten-under alongside first-round leaders Adrian Otaegui and Jordan Smith.
Meanwhile, in the battle to finish the season as Europe's No. 1, Tommy Fleetwood on eight-under needs to win in Dubai this weekend to have any chance of successfully defending his Race to Dubai title and stop the Francesco Molinari procession, and hope that Molinari finishes outside the top-five.
Wallace, though, was in confident mood.
“All aspects of my game are good at the moment,” he said.
“I feel really comfortable out there, the putter is helping me and I’m holing a lot out there. I really love this golf course and I love this tournament.
“It was massively important to me to get off to a good start, and I really had to focus in on that first putt. When you have a 25-footer on the first hole, you want to get the pace right, but I really wanted to hole it and I managed to pour it in there, and that got me going,” he added.
“It is all coming together, unfortunately at the end of the season, I do wish I had done this from the start.
“But, recently I’ve lowered my expectation levels, and that has really helped me this week. I am going to keep doing that for the rest of the weekend, and let my golf do the talking.
“That's up there with one of the best this year,” he said.
“I'm playing with freedom now and trying to place as high as I possibly can come the back nine holes on Sunday and then that's when I normally will try and kick in and want to win a tournament, depending on where I am.
“I've been in this situation before, just not in this sort of tournament. The best players are out there in the world and I just want to compete and see where my game is at against them."
Wallace also had to face being given a £3,000 ($3,860) “slow play” fine on his debut in Dubai on Thursday.
According to match referees, Wallace took too long to putt out for A par on the ninth hole, after being timed during his seventh and eighth birdie holes.
"The good thing, I guess, I paid for the fine in holing the second putt,” he said.
“Though, it was frustrating and it kind of put me out of flow for the next three to four holes.
“The thing is I don’t consider myself to be a slow player as evident in playing the three holes (7 to 9) in two-under so I saved time playing good golf.
“Hopefully, I can make up the fine by the end of this week.”
Matt Wallace gets over 'slow play' fine to lead in Dubai at DP World Tour
Matt Wallace gets over 'slow play' fine to lead in Dubai at DP World Tour
Real Sociedad edge rivals Athletic to reach Copa del Rey final
- Real Sociedad have now not lost in their last 10 derby clashes at home against Athletic, whom they beat in the 2020 final, and rarely looked like letting their advantage slip
SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain: Mikel Oyarzabal slotted home a late penalty to fire Real Sociedad into the Copa del Rey final with a 1-0 win over Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, securing a 2-0 aggregate semifinal triumph.
American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo has turned La Real’s fortunes around since arriving in December and his side will face Atletico Madrid in the Seville final on April 18, after they ousted Barcelona.
Already holding a 1-0 lead from the first leg at Athletic’s San Mames, Real Sociedad produced a sturdy display at the Reale Arena to knock out the 24-time winners.
“Very proud of what the boys have done, over the past two months, it’s pretty amazing,” said Matarazzo.
“Our first match was on the fourth of January... and we just reached the cup final.
“The football we’re playing is effective and we want to continue... we’re in the final and we want to win it.”
Real Sociedad have now not lost in their last 10 derby clashes at home against Athletic, whom they beat in the 2020 final, and rarely looked like letting their advantage slip.
“I think having the one goal advantage helped, we managed the tempo well,” Real Sociedad defender Jon Martin told Movistar.
“We didn’t want a lot to happen, and we did well.”
La Real had the better of a tense first half, with Carlos Soler coming closest. The midfielder’s free-kick, flying toward the top corner, was tipped over by Athletic goalkeeper Alex Padilla.
Matarazzo’s team had more of the ball and forced the visitors back, albeit without carving out many more openings.
Athletic defender Aitor Paredes made a last-ditch block to keep former Valencia midfielder Soler at bay, and Goncalo Guedes drilled into the side-netting.
Ernesto Valverde’s side improved in the second half and began to threaten La Real, again without finding a clear sight of goal.
Alejandro Berenguer fizzed a shot wide after Inaki Williams fed him on the edge of the box.
Los Leones were missing dangerous Spanish winger Nico Williams, who is sidelined indefinitely with a groin problem.
Oyarzabal seals it
The match was decided from the penalty spot when Athletic’s Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta grabbed a fistful of Yangel Herrera’s shirt as he tried to jump in the box.
After a VAR review the referee awarded a spot-kick and Spain striker Oyarzabal coolly sent Padilla the wrong way in the 87th minute.
Mikel Vesga might have levelled on the night for Athletic in stoppage time as they pushed forward with urgency but Real Sociedad stopper Unai Marrero saved well with his leg to help book his team’s flight to Andalusia.
“It was a hard-fought game, a Basque derby,” said Valverde.
“We had a clear chance at the end, we could have got back into the game but it wasn’t to be.”
Icelandic striker Orri Oskarsson could have extended La Real’s lead at the death but nodded against the post, although it did not matter in the end.
“It feels terrible, it’s a shame, we wanted to reach that final in Seville, I don’t even know what to say,” Athletic striker Williams told Movistar.
“(For the penalty) there’s that kind of grabbing in every box, every corner, and it’s very difficult (to take).”
