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By John Tully-Jackson
It must be hard to focus on your game when records are being smashed here, there and everywhere behind you. Bryson DeChambeau clearly figured out the formula for the Majlis, but Matt Wallace would have taken the Nobel prize for up and downs on Sunday at the 30th Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

DeChambeau may have hoisted the Dallah aloft, but that horse had bolted before the American had made the turn. Wallace could have only one focus thereafter; solo second place. A loose drive on the par-5 18th left the Englishman with no choice but to lay up, with a birdie required to separate himself from those tucked in behind DeChambeau’s blistering pace.

“I didn’t see myself having 165 yards in for my third on the last to try and get it done, but yeah, I’ll learn from that. I’ll put better swings on it next time. Overall, happy, yeah,” he said.

“[My game was] really good in parts, really shabby in parts. Not good enough to put any pressure on, but just about good enough to get second. I wanted to give it a go today. I really wanted to put some pressure on Bryson. He was obviously ‘struggling’ and scoring well.”

Scoring well indeed.

The world No.5 won by an astonishing seven shots, a record winning margin, posting -24 for the tournament, another record. While there was hope at the start of the round, with Wallace birdieing the first hole to reduce the margin to two shots, this was promptly extinguished when the American started with a hat-trick of his own red numbers.

“I’ve got to take the positives from that early on in the season to get the juices flowing like that.

“I actually drove it amazing, apart from that last tee shot, really. Friday was the best I’ve ever played tee-to-green, that’s really good signs. Got the new Ping driver in the bag and it’s doing me wonders. Swing speed and ball speed’s gone up.”

Another juncture in his round that helped the four-time European Tour winner end up in in solo silver medal position was a mis-hit putt on the tenth that looked so bad the world No.45 was standing upright scowling at the ball before it made it to the hole, where it fell improbably in the side door.

“Massively got away with one there. I came off the green saying to Dave [caddie David McNeilly], I’m just going to leave everything out here now because I tried to steer that one in and I don’t know how it went in. But yeah, I steered it in and I hit some good putts at the end.”

Wallace won three of his four European Tour titles last season, so when he starts firing, it usually produces results. What happened today has not blunted his ambition, rather inspired him to avenge what could have easily won a normal tournament save for DeChambeau’s wizardry.

“I feel comfortable with where I’m at. The swing is just not quite there. I knew it’s been coming. We’ll go again next week [at the Saudi International]. Credit to him, he’s played great today from what I hear and worthy champion of this week and it’s great to have him here. But I’ll try and get him next time.”