Matt Wallace won his second European Tour title of the season – and his third in little over a year – as he overtook Thorbjørn Olesen with a fantastic final day performance to claim the BMW International Open.
The Englishman started the day just two shots off the lead but spent much of the day looking up the leaderboard at Olesen. The Dane signed for a record-breaking round of 61 to get to nine under par and open up a three-shot lead before the final group had even teed off, recording the lowest round in BMW International Open history, the joint-lowest round of the season and the lowest round of his career so far.
Wallace stepped up in some style, making five birdies in seven holes from the turn to sign for a bogey-free 65 and get to ten under par, one shot ahead of Olesen, who was also seeking his second title of the season after winning the Italian Open earlier this month.
It was then a waiting game for the clubhouse leader as home hero Martin Kaymer and Finland’s Mikko Korhonen got within one shot. Both ultimately finished at nine under par alongside Olesen – with Kaymer’s challenge ended after he sent his second shot through the back of the driveable 17th – as Wallace added to last season’s victory at the Open de Portugal at Morgado Golf Resort and his triumph at the Hero Indian Open in March.
England’s Aaron Rai and another Dane in Lucas Bjerregaard finished one further back at eight under par, while Soren Kjeldsen rounded out a good weekend for Denmark as he signed for a 68 to get to seven under par alongside Australia’s Scott Hend.
Player quotes
Matt Wallace: “The two putts on 10 and 11 from long range, after I did that, I hit some great shots and I was like, wow, we can get there now. I didn’t think I would have got there — I played the front nine really nice but missed loads of putts. After those two, I thought, okay, this is on.
“I think you know me, as well, that I work hard. I work for this. I believe I can do it. I want to go further. I want to keep building on this. Obviously gives me a lot of confidence to go on and play well and I want to kick on and hopefully do this in the bigger events from now on. I think I said it in the last few interviews that I need to play my way into the The Ryder Cup, and this is a good start.
“Brilliant to win here in Germany, BMW, such a great event, and to play against the likes of Martin Kaymer and the guys at the top there, it’s great. It’s a great field. And special mention to Thorbjørn for his round today. 61 is fantastic. I think he finished before the leaders went out, so that’s quite special. Kudos to him.”
Thorbjørn Olesen: “I felt like especially the first two days, I played really great. Especially the second day. Was striking the ball fantastic and gave myself so many chances. You know, I had a bad day yesterday. I had a bad hole there at the start and obviously that was very disappointing because I felt like I was playing so good.
“So you know, I was just trying to just go out there and build on my game, and see if I can shoot a good score and get ready for next week. But obviously as the round progressed, I was keep on thinking birdies and trying to make the round better. Yeah, finishing with four birdies was pretty nice.”
Martin Kaymer: “A lot of positives. I think I putted really, really well especially today. Gave myself a lot of chances. Mentally I stayed in it very well. Didn’t rush anything. Was quite calm on the golf course. Really enjoyed playing the last two days.
“On 17 I just wanted to hit a skidder that pitches maybe ten on the green and skids a couple times and then checks. But firm hands, of course it happens when you get under pressure a little bit but those hands they were very firm. It does happen. It was not my best moment in golf. Unfortunately it happened at the wrong time and in my home country but at end of the day I need to focus on the positives and there has been quite a lot in the last three weeks.”
Winner’s Briefing Notes – Matt Wallace
- His third European Tour victory in his 39th appearance, and his first appearance at the BMW International Open
- His second title of the season following the Hero Indian Open in March. His maiden victory came at the 2017 Open de Portugal at Morgado Golf Resort
- Could move to 61st in the Official World Golf Ranking, up from 91st
- Moves to 1,031,724 Race to Dubai points and to 11th in the Rankings, up from 25th
- The fifth European Tour win for a player from England this season, following Chris Paisley at the BMW SA Open hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni Tommy Fleetwood at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA, Eddie Pepperell at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and his own win in India
- The 324th European Tour win for a player from England
- The 440th European Tour win for a former Challenge Tour player
Round four scores
278 M Wallace (Eng) 73 69 71 65,
279 M Korhonen (Fin) 71 72 69 67, T Olesen (Den) 73 68 77 61, M Kaymer (Ger) 72 68 71 68,
280 A Rai (Eng) 69 71 71 69, L Bjerregaard (Den) 72 72 67 69,
281 S Kjeldsen (Den) 72 69 72 68, S Hend (Aus) 71 67 73 70,
282 A Sullivan (Eng) 71 72 70 69, N Elvira (Esp) 71 73 73 65, J Walters (RSA) 76 67 75 64,
283 M Foster (Eng) 72 70 74 67, S Garcia (Esp) 73 71 71 68, S Jamieson (Sco) 69 74 70 70, M Kieffer (Ger) 71 69 71 72,
284 W Ormsby (Aus) 71 71 71 71, E Molinari (Ita) 74 69 71 70,
285 C Mivis (Bel) 72 75 68 70, T Detry (Bel) 71 72 76 66, J Lima (Por) 73 71 69 72, N Geyger (Chi) 70 69 73 73, D Lipsky (USA) 74 71 69 71, N Von Dellingshausen (Ger) 70 75 71 69, M Nixon (Eng) 76 72 71 66, T Pieters (Bel) 73 69 71 72,
286 T Lewis (Eng) 76 70 72 68, C Paisley (Eng) 72 71 68 75, C Blomstrand (Swe) 70 72 74 70, S Gros (Fra) 68 72 75 71, D Howell (Eng) 70 75 69 72, B Dredge (Wal) 73 73 74 66, R McEvoy (Eng) 77 68 74 67,
287 G Bourdy (Fra) 73 72 72 70, A Björk (Swe) 76 70 73 68, C Wood (Eng) 72 75 69 71, G Fernandez – Castaño (Esp) 73 73 73 68, C Bezuidenhout (RSA) 73 71 74 69, J Campillo (Esp) 69 75 71 72, B Neil (Sco) 75 73 70 69,
288 J Quesne (Fra) 71 74 72 71, D Horsey (Eng) 72 72 71 73, A Connelly (Can) 73 74 71 70, M Schwab (Aut) 72 75 71 70, D Drysdale (Sco) 75 73 70 70,
289 J Heath (Eng) 73 75 68 73, A Romero (Arg) 71 75 67 76, L Jensen (Den) 74 73 70 72, C Syme (Sco) 74 69 71 75, N Cullen (Aus) 72 68 77 72, L Slattery (Eng) 79 69 72 69,
290 H Sturehed (Swe) 69 70 76 75, F Aguilar (Chi) 75 73 69 73, H Porteous (RSA) 73 73 77 67, R Sterne (RSA) 72 74 70 74, J Suri (USA) 75 73 71 71,
291 A Pavan (Ita) 75 72 73 71, J Stalter (Fra) 74 71 71 75, A Otaegui (Esp) 71 74 74 72,
292 J Kolbing (Ger) 74 72 72 74, S Horsfield (Eng) 73 71 72 76, T Fleetwood (Eng) 74 74 71 73, M Kinhult (Swe) 76 70 73 73,
293 C Koepka (USA) 75 72 70 76, A Chesters (Eng) 73 74 73 73, L Gagli (Ita) 74 74 70 75,
294 V Perez (Fra) 70 76 72 76, R Jacquelin (Fra) 74 73 75 72, C Ford (Eng) 74 74 73 73,
295 P Hanson (Swe) 74 74 75 72, E Johansen (Nor) 72 75 73 75,
296 B Hafthorsson (Isl) 74 73 75 74,
298 M Tullo (Chi) 70 76 82 70,
299 G Green (Mas) 75 71 77 76,
301 A Saddier (Fra) 77 71 73 80,
302 R Echenique (Arg) 74 74 79 75,
