Matt Wallace blasts “ridiculous” Wyndham Championship course 

Matt Wallace vented his anger at the golf course after a frustrating finish to his opening round of the Wyndham Championship.

Wallace posted a three-under opening round of 67 at Sedgefield Country Club to put himself in contention to reach the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

After starting the tournament at No.80 in the standings, he will likely need a top-ten finish to make the PGA Tour’s postseason, which starts at next week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

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And while he made a solid start to the event, the fiery Englishman was clearly irked that he let a standout round slip as he finished his final five holes in two-over.

“A bit p***** off actually with the finish,” Wallace said. “Playing nicely. Yeah, just frustrated. I don’t like this golf course.”

When asked specifically why he wasn’t a fan of the Donald Ross-design, Wallace said: “Because the runoffs are just absolutely ridiculous, and this, it’s just not fun to play.

“Hit a shot out of the rough on the last and it landed on the front and runs backward 40 yards. It’s just not great. Yeah, I shouldn’t be in the rough, but it’s difficult to hit the fairway all the time, especially like this.

“A lot of green in regulations is key, but the penalty for a miss – even on the par 3 down the hill, 12, you can’t go long because you can putt it off the green, so you play the smart play and you play it toward the front, the middle and, from 220 yards, I mean, it’s just, it’s too severe, so they need to do something about it.

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“Great tournament, great sponsor. Just for me, if I don’t have to come here, I wouldn’t, but I kind of need to.”

Wallace is still dreaming of achieving his long-term goal of playing in this year’s Ryder Cup. His hopes seem to be fading for one of Luke Donald’s six wildcard picks, but he knows he would burst right back into the conversation with his second PGA Tour win of the season this weekend.

“Hopefully I can turn that tune around,” he added, “and at the end of the week I’ll tell you I absolutely love this golf course and thanks for having me and I’ll be back again next year.”

Meanwhile, American Russell Henley fired an opening eight-under 62 to lead in North Carolina. Adam Scott,  who like Wallace is also on the FedEx Cup bubble, is just three shots back after a five-under opening round.

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.