Matt Wallace Makes Nine Straight Birdies at Dubai Event

Matt Wallace birdied all nine holes on the back nine Saturday to shoot a career-best 60 in the third round to take a one-shot lead over Viktor Hovland and Tommy Fleetwood at the DP World Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

Wallace began the day seven strokes off the lead and after a first-nine 33 on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates and proceeded to birdie all of the remaining holes for a back-nine 30 and a near-miss eagle at the 18th that would have given him 59.

His nine consecutive birdies, 12 birdies in the round and the nine-hole score of 27 all matched DP World Tour bests but will not be official records due to preferred lies being in place for the third round. He finished at 16 under par.

“What a day, an amazing day,’’ the Englishman told reporters afterward in Dubai. “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.’’

Wallace was fighting just a few weeks ago to retain his DP World Tour card after playing most of this year on the PGA Tour. He needed a strong finish at last week’s Nedbank Challenge in South Africa to qualify for the 50-player Tour Championship.

Now he is a day away from his fifth DP World Tour title, and first since 2018.

"At the end, I didn't even think there was a 59,’’ he said. “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.

“In the Czech Republic, I was playing to keep my card, played mostly on the PGA Tour this year,’’ said Wallace, who won the Corales Puntacana Championship earlier this year. “So once I came second there, it kind of boosted me and then I wanted to make DP World and now I’m here and we have a chance to win tomorrow. That’s the full focus there.”

Hovland, who won the Tour Championship in August, has a chance to complete the double with a win Sunday in Dubai. Both he and Fleetwood shot 66 to finish one back.

Reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm is tied for ninth and is five strokes out of the lead. Rory McIlroy, who clinched the overall Race to Dubai title and its $2 million bonus prior to the start of the event, shot 65 and is tied for 19th, eight shots back of Wallace.