Tour pro eyes Ryder Cup after ending lengthy win drought

A new name has taken the lead in the *early* race to qualify for the 2025 Ryder Cup.

It’s after a significant change in the qualification process, which means there will only be one points list in operation.

A new tournament banding structure has been implemented, with players securing a place on Team Europe through a points system.

And one man happy with the update is Matt Wallace.

The Englishman won last week’s Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre in Switzerland to end a six-year drought on the DP World Tour.

The win has also seemingly brought an end to a tough period for Wallace, 31, who admitted to lacking self-confidence at the Genesis Scottish Open in July.

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“I needed something like the change in the Ryder Cup points list to really give me a focus,” he said after lifting his first DP World Tour title since 2018.

“I feel like I’ve just been travelling around the world, chasing my tail and trying to play the best golf I can.

“And I think my whole team have seen a huge difference in me emotionally and mentally, where I’m able to focus on something bigger than myself and that is the Ryder Cup.

“It’s given me an energy that I don’t think I’ve ever had before and a focus, so I’m just going to do everything I can to be on that team.

“Every single week now is, hopefully, going to be like this week.”

July 13th: “I just lack a load of self confidence at the moment…It’s hard…I’m just not where I want to be” 😣

September 8th: "I'm going to do everything I can to be on @RyderCupEurope"#OEM2024 pic.twitter.com/fIhDAeb7vB

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 8, 2024

Wallace made birdie on the first play-off hole to beat Spaniard Alfredo Garcia-Heredia and return to the winner’s circle.

Denmark’s Niklas Norgaard led the European Team Rankings after week one, following his win at the Belfry, but Wallace has now claimed the top spot.

A place in Luke Donald’s side at Bethpage Black next year would feel like a redemption for Wallace, too.

The Englishman won three times on tour in 2018, but captain Thomas Bjorn didn’t award him a ticket to Le Golf National in Paris.

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.