Matt Wallace aims to qualify for the 2025 Ryder Cup after winning European Masters
Matt Wallace notched a win on the DP World Tour six years after his last victory. The next thing he's looking at? The 2025 Ryder Cup. Winning tournaments like that will go a long way toward qualification, but the time period in which points are earned is still very lengthy.
Wallace will have to keep the momentum up if he's to fend off all the other European golfers who would like to make it to the team without having to be a captain's selection. He said via Sky Sports:
"With the new Ryder Cup system coming around, it has really given me that buzz to get the juices flowing again. It's a long time away, but every single week now, every tournament, it will be full focus on the Ryder Cup. It's a great start [winning at Crans-sur-Sierre], but there's a long way to go."
The latest Omega European Masters champion added that he's personally seen players do really well with the qualification system before fading down the stretch and putting their spot on the team at risk. He added:
"We know what to do. We'll be fully focused come [the BMW PGA Championship] Wentworth - I'm not playing in Ireland this week, so apologies to everyone over there."
The journey to qualification for the 2025 Ryder Cup begins now, and it will continue for Matt Wallace at the BMW PGA Championship later this month. Presently, Wallace ranks first in Ryder Cup points for Team Europe.
He leads Niklas Norgaard, Rasmus Hojgaard, and several others. That includes Alfredo Garcia-Heredia and Andrew Johnston, both of whom he defeated by the thinnest of margins at the Omega European Masters.
Matt Wallace discusses drought-ending playoff win
Matt Wallace has been in this situation before in the Omega European Masters. In 2022, he lost a playoff in the same tournament. On Sunday, he was ready for the playoff unlike two years ago.
Wallace said that he was "laser-focused" at the end of the tournament despite Garcia-Heredia forcing a playoff. He said (via Sky Sports):
"But as soon as the playoff came about, I could attack it and be aggressive. I had to have that mindset; I was given another chance and I took my chance."
He made some mistakes earlier in the final round, but he took the opportunity to make up for them later in the tournament. The European golfer added:
"Obviously you want to win all the time - that's why we play this game, every single week you're teeing it up to try and be in those positions and get it across the line. It's so difficult to do, that it's something you don't really think of until you've actually done it."
The win puts him first in the Ryder Cup standings, so it was a key victory for his future goals.