Wallace ace overshadowed by commentator blunder
By James Savage
It’s the stuff dreams are made of – a hole-in-one at a major championship.
The crowds go wild, you’re high-fiving everyone in a half-mile radius and you’ve just jumped 15 places on the leaderboard.
And then the commentator gets your name wrong.
Matt Wallace has won three times on the European Tour in the last 15 months and is ranked 75th in the world so he’s hardly an unknown.
But he was re-named ‘Mike’ by the CBS commentary team.
That roar you heard? Matt Wallace aced the 16th.#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/fiSIS2rAxn
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) August 11, 2018
Anyway, we can forgive commentator Dave Whatshisname for a momentary lapse of concentration.
But Twitter wasn’t so forgiving…
MIKE WALLACE!
— James Savage (@JamesSavageNCG) August 11, 2018
Hole in one for Mike Wallace at 16 and first to congratulate him is Justin Spieth.
— Alex Perry (@AlexPerryNCG) August 11, 2018
Hell of a swing here from Mike Wallace ??? https://t.co/jOUm5Urp5A
— Chris Paisley (@ChrisPaisley86) August 11, 2018
‘MIKE’ Wallace just aced the 16th – this major is going down in flames – coverage is beyond terrible and they can’t even get the players names right ! Joke from start to finish – of course Matt Wallace isn’t American, he might as well not exist @PGAChampionship
— Tony Thomas (@WhitekirkPinky) August 11, 2018
The Wallace ace – which is the real reason we are here – came at the 232-yard par-3 16th.
So which club did the Ping staffer use to send a roar ringing around Bellerive?
The model was the brand new i210 which we reviewed recently. Wallace actually splits his set with the iBlade from 6-9 and the slightly larger and more forgiving i210 for his 3, 4 and 5.
So which was it for the 232-yard hole? 5-iron of course…
And after going to collect his ball Wallace threw it into the crowd rather than keeping it as a memento.
This was all the more surprising after Wallace revealed in his post-round interview that is was his first ace at a pro.
“To get it in a major championship was really special,” he said.
“I’d said a couple of holes earlier that this was the most fun I’ve ever had out on the golf course because the crowds were amazing.
“They love their sports around here. I had Tiger playing behind me which can put some people off but I loved looking back and seeing him there.
“I didn’t love the crowd roaring on my backswing at he hit it into 17 but that’s not his fault.”
Wallace has already secured his best finish in a major as he goes into the final round at -5.
This is the first time he’s made the cut in one.
The reason Tiger changes his shirt every three holes…
DJ gets his eye in with new TaylorMade putter
James Savage
Former equipment editor of NCG. Inconsistent ball-striker and tea-maker.
