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Matt Wallace says there should be no excuses for missing out on the 2025 Ryder Cup.

He was snubbed for a place on Team Europe in 2018 but has told the Sky Sports Golf podcast that he is ‘up for the fight’ of a renewed qualification bid.

No team has won an away Ryder Cup since 2012, while Team Europe – led by Luke Donald – will hope to defend their title.

“I remember missing out then and Dave McNeilly, who was caddying for me at the time, said: ‘We’re in,’ so I obviously thought we’d get there and couldn’t really understand why we didn’t,” Wallace said.

“Now I look back and think, ‘okay, rookie, they went on to get a great win having Sergio [Garcia] there, most points in the Ryder Cup’, I understand more now.

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“I’d never played against the big stars really, on a constant basis. It would have been a little bit of a risk for Thomas [Bjorn] to throw me in.

“I’m not saying I couldn’t have done it, but it would have been a risk. So, I understand.

“And I missed the cut at the French Open that year. So those were the excuses as to why I didn’t make the Ryder Cup that time.”

Now, though, Wallace, who won a first DP World Tour title since 2018 in September, has outlined why he can’t be overlooked again.

“I came third at the PGA at Bethpage in 2019, I was behind Brooks [Koepka] and DJ [Dustin Johnson], so that’s not going to be an excuse this time,” he said. “That can’t be an excuse this time.

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“I will be a Ryder Cup rookie, but I have played on the PGA Tour for five years now against the best players in the world. I’ve beaten a lot of them, I’m not scared and I’m up for the fight.

“I feel like I’ve got the mentality to deal with anything over there [USA]. And I just want to make it.”

Wallace currently sits second in the European Team rankings, behind only Rasmus Hojgaard.

A seat on the plane next year would mark a first time wearing blue and gold in what Wallace says is “the best sporting event in the world.”


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John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.

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