Matt Wallace Explains Decision To Call Penalty On Himself At Valspar Championship

There was a commendable moment during the second round of the Valspar Championship, when Matt Wallace called a penalty on himself.

The incident happened on the 11th at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, when the Englishman missed the fairway right with a 366-yard drive and found himself among the pine straw and leaves.

However, things got worse for Wallace at the par-5 while he was addressing the ball, when he detected it move.

As a result, he called over the referee to explain the situation, resulting in being assessed a one-stroke penalty per rule 9.4 of the Rules of Golf, which addresses when the ball is lifted or moved by a player.

Following his second round, Wallace detailed exactly what had happened, and explained he’d been warned by his caddie Jamie Lane about the perilous nature of the situation.

He said: “Yeah, pine straw, lots of pine straw, leaves. Even Jamie said just be careful around the ball there. And I was like, obviously never thought about it.

“I don't think I've ever the ball's ever moved when I've been around it. But I had to hover it so far away from the ball because this one twig was sticking out, and I think when I was waggling the ball definitely moved.

“So I had to call the referee over. Didn't know whether it was in the action of my swing or anything, but I definitely touched it, and then the ball moved from that. So I had to replace it.”

The incident occurred immediately after Wallace’s first bogey of the day, but not only did he make a par following the penalty, he also made the cut by two.

That’s something he admitted had surprised him, given the situation he found himself in. He added: “Yeah, I didn't think it was going to go - didn't think I would be standing here making the cut after that. But a good bit of karma and managed to make some birdies coming in.”

Wallace also gave credit to Lane for motivating him to emerge from the 11th with the par, saying: “Jamie did a great job though. He was like, ‘Let's make an amazing par.’

“Hit a great shot out of there, a good chip, and then made a good putt from four, five feet. So, yeah, didn't really give me much momentum, but it was obviously very much needed at the time.”

The incident appeared to galvanize Wallace, who was flawless for the rest of the round, making three more birdies between the 14th and 17th for a three-under 68 that left him on one under for the tournament, eight behind leader Sungjae Im.

Despite that gap, Wallace was also confident he could launch a challenge over the remaining 36 holes, saying: “It's so hard. No one's going to get away from you. You need to play well no matter what. You're not going to breathe around here.

“So I still feel like I've got a chance to make a run at this weekend. I'm playing really good. That's the big part for me is not just about this week it's about playing well. I've got three events coming up now that I like, so carry that on and hopefully get in contention at the weekend at some point.”