Matt Wallace may have enjoyed a meteoric rise in the golfing world but he insists he has no intention of slowing down ahead of his home event at the Betfred British Masters.
The Englishman tees up at Hillside Golf Club ranked 36th in the Official World Golf Ranking, a far cry from where he was just three years ago.
He won six times - including in five consecutive starts - on the Alps Tour in 2016 and after adding a first European Tour victory the following season, he lifted three trophies last term as he finished in the top ten on the Race to Dubai Rankings Presented by Rolex.
He arrives in Southport as one of the biggest names in the field and is looking forward to an event where he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Ian Poulter, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood by playing host one day.
“I played here in the British Amateur in 2011 - I’m a different player to what I was then, though," he said.
"It’s a great golf course, fantastic quality. I played out there this morning at 7.30 and, I mean, beautiful. The greens were really good this morning as well, come Thursday they should be perfect.
“To be able to travel around this country, Walton Heath was great last year, and then to come up here, playing in the north west, showing the crowds - hopefully it’ll be a fun week.
"Tommy being the host, as well, he's going to be fantastic. Hopefully, somewhere down the line, I can emulate that and copy what he's done and hopefully have a Matt Wallace British Masters.”
I’ve always planned I want to be a top ten player in the world. Once you get there, you’ve got a chance of being number one - Matt Wallace
Wallace's quest to get to the very top of the game has involved hiring fitness expert Dr Steve McGregor, who has also worked with Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood - two former World Number Ones.
“In the last couple of weeks I’ve managed to get Steve McGregor on board,” Wallace said. “He helped Rory and Lee Westwood get to World Number One in their time they worked together and Steve’s been brilliant.
“He’s already helped me evaluate where I’ve got to and where I want to go to and we’ve got a system and we’ve got a plan now. I’ve always planned I want to be a top ten player in the world.
“That’s always been my goal, because once you get there, you’ve got a chance of being number one. So my plan is to try and get there, somehow, some way, and I’m going to give it my all for these next few years.
“I said to my manager Chubby (Andrew Chandler), I have everything ticked off but it’s in pencil rather than pen. I needed it confirmed. I needed it nailed, like this is the approach we’re going to take and we’re not messing around any more.
“We’ve got a chance to really take this on and take it to the next level and Steve’s one of the best at doing that. He’s been out of the game for a little while and now he’s back in.
“I’m stoked to have him as part of my team and it’s given me that extra bit of energy and a bit of a buzz to know that over the next few years we could do some big things and that’s nice to know.”
