Wallace Needs A Big Open Championship To Keep His Ryder Cup Hopes Alive

Matt Wallace knows that he needs a good performance at the Open Championship to help his Ryder Cup chances - saying he's always thinking about making Luke Donald's team.

The Englishman is hoping it's third time lucky in terms of getting into the team - having famously been a controversial omission in 2018 having won three times on the DP World Tour.

Despite being in his prime and in the form of his life, Wallace was overlooked by Thomas Bjorn in favour of Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson and Sergio Garcia as wildcards for his Ryder Cup team in Paris.

With Europe then proceeding to give Team USA a good kicking at Le Golf National, Bjorn proved his point and Wallace is still waiting to make his Ryder Cup debut.

And it's something that, despite a relatively poor season so far, Wallace is desperate to achieve - but knows he'll need to show up at Royal Liverpool to stand a chance.

“It's a good year getting into the Open,” said Wallace. “I want to compete, I want to play well. I need to play well if I want a chance to play Ryder Cup.

“Missed cuts, good performances. It’s always on your mind, I’m ugly and old enough now to know this is like my third time going at it.

"So, I just want to make it, I just want to play well and make it."

Wallace had to come through Final Qualifying to make the field at Hoylake, in a season where he's won his first PGA Tour event but also had 11 missed cuts and just two top 10s.

But as he looks to somehow make the team for Rome, the 33-year-old admits that the Ryder Cup has been a driving force as he enters the week 30th on the World Points list in the Ryder Cup standings.

“What if it comes down to a couple of points at the end of the season? Who knows? I might be automatic or not automatic and relying on a pick," Wallace added.

“It gives me a little bit of a booster when things aren’t going well, and it gives me a kick up the backside.

“I have tried so many ways to not think about it and be selfish. Don’t even think about it, go out and play and do my own thing because that will take care of everything else.

“But I do that anyway, I play for myself anyway when we’re playing tournaments, but I want to make it and I don’t want to shy away from that. It’s a driver when I’m not playing well, or it’s a driver when I’m in 50th place."