Wildwood win for Wallis

Richard Wallis (North Foreland) shot a terrific round of seven-under-par 65 to win the Wildwood Invitational Pro-Am, supported by Safran Messier-Bugatti-Dowty and Marstons, to beat a strong field of southern stars.

With his second stellar performance in nine days, the new PGA Sandwich Links champion took the £900 first prize, pushing Matt Ford (CK Group) into second place for £700 despite shooting a five-under-par 67. Jordan Godwin (Barnehurst) shot 68 to take home £600.

Commenting on his victory, Wallis said: “Wildwood was in great condition considering all the rain that came down over the past few days, and the greens were the best I’ve seen them which really helped the low scoring on the day. I was also playing with one of the sponsors, so putting in that kind of round lifted the entertainment value!”

He continued: “Again, I’ve been putting in the hours since the Sandwich event and I missed just two greens. It was very much target golf, controlling the flight and spin, and grabbing the opportunities when they came.”

Starting on the 10^th, Wallis did just that with birdies on the 11^th and 13^th, and while he missed the green at the short 16^th and failed to get up and down, he soon made up for that by birdieing the 17th and holing a chip from off the green at the 18^th for an eagle.

Now four-under-par, he started his back nine in similar fashion, notching up birdies at the second, fourth and sixth to reach seven-under-par, and three solid pars resulted in a stunning card of 65.

“I was expecting it to be windy,” he said, “so I’d hit balls for two hours the day before in the wind to get a feel for things, but as it turned out there was hardly any breeze. The main thing was the lack of any run on the ball, but the course was a delight to play.”

Off to Egypt at the weekend for the final tournament of the PGA Europro Tour season, Wallis is hoping he can maintain his form.

He said: “A second win in an event with another strong field certainly gives me the hope and confidence I need to take with me after a relatively uneventful season, so I’ll keep up the practice rate and see what happens!”