Matt Wallace picked up his third European Tour victory at the BMW International Open and second win of the 2018 season to strengthen his Ryder Cup bid during a week of strong performances from numerous players on the bubble of the automatic selection places.
The Englishman, who has been in fine form this season with five top tens and two victories, will certainly be in the thoughts of Captain Thomas Bjørn after his win in Germany.
It was a scintillating final round of 65 that saw Wallace finish above home-favourite Martin Kaymer, Shot Clock Masters champ Mikko Korhonen and Italian Open champ Thorbjørn Olesen by one shot.
It was the latter, Olesen, who put in the round of the tournament on the final day with a faultless 11 under par 61 to leapfrog most in the field and eventually come up one short of the winner.
The Dane’s steady form in recent months will certainly be of interest to countryman Bjørn.
Kaymer, backed by the passionate home crowd, also put forward his case to make the European team for a fifth time with his second place finish. It was a timely boost in the run up to The Ryder Cup and the man who holed the winning putt at Medinah is in the mix.
There was little change in the automatic spots, bar Paul Casey displacing Matthew Fitzpatrick on the World Points list after his T2 finish at the Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour. The 40 year old has featured three times for Europe at the Ryder Cup, with his last appearance coming ten years ago in 2008.
This week, the European Tour heads to the Le Golf National, which will host The 2018 Ryder Cup in less than 100 days, with Captain Bjørn sure to be keeping a close eye on those who perform well in the third Rolex Series event of the year.
