Matt Wallace wins Corales Puntacana Championship for first PGA Tour title

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.”