Satellite stars: Matt Wallace

With a new year bringing a new European Challenge Tour season, and a new crop of up and coming talent, we profile the Alps Tour’s most prolific player in 2016 – Matt Wallace.

Rarely in golf does one player dominate to such an extent as Wallace did last year, with the Englishman producing one of the most commanding campaigns seen in the satellite tour’s 15-year history.

Teeing it up in just nine Alps Tour events in 2016, the 26 year old triumphed six times – winning five of those titles in consecutive appearances.

In his three other starts on one of Europe’s four satellite tours, Wallace finished second, tied third and joint fourth, taking his prize money earned for the campaign to €49,703 – almost twice as much as the amount raised by second-placed Enrico Di Nitto.

After three full seasons on the satellite tour, Wallace produced some extraordinary golf, consistently going low to record a season stroke average of 67.5.

Comparatively, the lowest stroke average on the 2016 Road to Oman was Ryan Fox’s 68.83, while Road to Oman Number One Jordan Smith’s was 69.32.

Wallace, who caught the eye after a promising first two rounds at the Nordea Masters, will be confident he can bring his winning form to Europe’s top developmental tour after he finished tied ninth at theFred Olsen Challenge de Españaand joint fourth at the Terre dei Consoli Open last season.

With two former Alps Tour stars graduating on to the European Tour this year, Frenchmen Damien Perrier and Matthieu Pavon, Wallace will be aiming to follow in their footsteps in 2017.

2016 Alps Tour graduates: Matt Wallace (England), Enrico Di Nitto (Italy), Federico Maccario (Italy), Tom Shadbolt (England), Victor Perez (France)