Matt Wallace wins Corales Puntacana Championship for first PGA Tour title

Matt Wallace won his first PGA Tour title in the Dominican Republic (Mike Carlson/AP).

England’s Matt Wallace won his first PGA Tour title with an impressive victory in the Corales Puntacana Championship.

Wallace carded a final round of 66 in the Dominican Republic to finish on 19 under par, a shot ahead of Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard.

The 32-year-old Londoner, who finished seventh in the Valspar Championship last week, got off to a poor start with a bogey on the second, but responded superbly with birdies on the third, fourth and seventh.

Wallace then made four birdies in a row from the 13th to move into a two-shot lead before Hojgaard closed the gap with a birdie on the par-three 17th, but the 22-year-old was unable to pick up another shot on the last to force a play-off.

Wallace, who hit the headlines for getting into an argument with his caddie Sam Bernard during the Valspar Championship last week, said: “Everyone knows I’m a feisty character but that got me through that today.

“I was calm, I was determined. I kind of felt like I had it in me all week. I really felt like I was playing some really good stuff and I felt like I was going to be up there at the end of the week no matter what.

“I didn’t get off to the start I wanted today but kept at it and Sam was brilliant, so positive, and the way I finished was exactly how I feel like I can play golf.

“That was awesome down the final few holes and I’m really proud of myself.

“I knew I was playing some good stuff, I just had to let it come out because that’s the hardest bit sometimes – you stop yourself from playing good golf.

“I’m proud of how I dealt with that and the bogey today, I birdied the third hole straight away after the bogey and the back nine was brilliant.”

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