Matt Wallace couldn’t quite defend his title at the Omega European Masters on Sunday. The close call may keep the five-time DP World Tour winner off the European Ryder Cup team as well.

It certainly seemed that way, at least.

Following a final-round 67 that left him two shots behind winner Thriston Lawrence in Switzerland, Wallace was extra emotional. In particular, when asked about playing with a potential Ryder Cup spot on the line.

You could see just how much the event means to Wallace. He needed a few moments to gather himself as he wiped tears away.

“I’ll never give up on the Ryder Cup,” he finally was able to say. “I just won’t.”

And then he turned away, concluding his TV post-round interview.

Wallace, who finished 12th in Europe’s team standings, is believed to be on the bubble for one of the final spots to represent Europe next month at Bethpage Black. Although captain Luke Donald will make his six captain’s picks official on Monday, the 35-year-old Englishman who has never played in the Ryder Cup seemed like he already knew his fate. And that a win on Sunday was probably needed to make the squad.

Wallace was a tough snub in 2018 when he won three times during his first full year on the DP World Tour, but Thomas Bjorn opted to go with experience by selecting four guys with an average age of 41.

“It’s such a driver for me,” Wallace told Bunkered Magazine last month. “When I go in the gym and my trainer says ‘Ryder Cup’ whenever I’m flagging, I get a buzz and I go hard and I go again. Every point. Who knows? By the end of it, every shot from here until September, every shot might be the difference.”

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