Matt Wallace cannot wait to get to the U.S. Open after achieving his best finish in a Major at the US PGA Championship.
The Englishman has enjoyed a meteoric rise in recent years, going from playing on the Alps Tour in 2016, to being a four time European Tour winner and finishing third in one of golf's big four events just three years later.
Wallace has no intention of stopping there, however, and has recently hired fitness expert Dr Steve McGregor, who has also worked with Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood - two former World Number Ones.
That is part of a strategy of looking at the "bigger picture" for Wallace, and it looked to be paying dividends as he achieved his biggest result on the international stage at Bethpage State Park BK Course.
The 29-year-old carded a closing 72 in round four as the notoriously difficult Long Island layout bared its teeth in the wind, finishing six shots behind winner Brooks Koepka and four back of Dustin Johnson.
But Wallace was delighted to be mixing it with the players ranked first and second in the Official World Golf Ranking, and cannot wait to try and do it again at Pebble Beach Golf Links next month.
“In the end, I wanted second, but I would have taken third. That’s not a bad week for me," he said.
“I really dug deep and showed another side to myself, that I was proud and kept churning away and trying to produce the best I could, and two over was the best I could have done.
I'm buzzing for the next Major. I've shown that I can compete - Matt Wallace
“That’s what you need to do in Majors. So I’ve done it now and hope I can go two steps better in a few weeks’ time.
"I'm buzzing for the next Major. I've shown that I can compete. We're a little bit far away from the leaders but that's a few putts here and there.
"If I can just try and get better at every single part of my game, I can compete with the likes of Brooks and DJ.
"I'm looking forward to it, I feel I'm right there mentally, the approach is going right and hopefully we can do that in the next tournament."
