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Matt Wallace’s day at Jumeriah Estates began like most others. A handful of birdies on the front side of the Earth Course saw the Englishman turn in 33 before entering a zone few have rarely seen. Making birdie on every hole of his back nine, Wallace signed for a 12-under 60 to turn a seven-stroke deficit into a one-stroke lead heading into the final round of the 2023 DP World Tour Championship. Standing at 16 under, Wallace will have to contend with some of the heaviest hitters in the game over the final 18 as Viktor Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood make up his closest pursuers.
Wallace’s 12 birdies in a round, nine birdies in a row, nine-hole score in relation to par (-9) and in sum (27) matched DP World Tour records. His third shot from the greenside bunker on the par-5 18th, his 59th stroke of the day, settled two feet from the pin. Since preferred lies were in place, Wallace’s accolades will technically not earn a place in European history books.
“What a day, an amazing day,” Wallace said. “I just tried my hardest to get myself back into the tournament. I’m really happy that I’ve been able to do that. Played great. At the end, I didn’t even think there was a 59. Honestly I think it helped me a little bit. I just played nicely coming down the stretch, just keep getting one more if I could and I managed to do that.
“Kind of gutted now actually a little bit. Great opportunity to do it. I’ve done it at Moorpark on the West Course, which is only a par 68, but to do it out there would have been really special today. Ball in hand helps. I had a couple good lies for up-and-down, but it was fantastic and a good effort for 59.”
Wallace will now be tasked with one of the most difficult prospects in professional golf: following up a great round with another. Surging to the top of the leaderboard, Wallace finds himself in the final pair of Sunday’s action alongside Fleetwood, who had a heater…
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Source : cbssports
