Matt Wallace had a Thursday problem. And a Friday affinity. We were stuck. So we, the pro with the Thursday problem and the Friday affinity, did something any wise person with a Thursday problem and a Friday affinity would do.
We punted on Thursday.
We went right to Friday.
And just like that, our week looks promising. Through two days in heavenly Vidanta, Mexico, we, Matt Wallace, are your 36-hole leader at the Mexico Open.
“Good focus, good determination,” we said, “and yeah, happy with the score.”
How we, the 33-year-old Englishman, arrived at this point will require a quick examination into the mental gymnastics we sometimes play. Along with a bit of math.
Wallace, for whatever reason, said he’d been struggling of late during Thursday opening rounds. We’re not lying. Two weeks ago, at the WM Phoenix Open, we shot a 75. Two weeks before that, at the Farmers Insurance Open, we shot a 73. We said we got angered.
We also said we then got in gear. The next day at the Phoenix Open? We fired a 64. The next day at the Farmers? We fired a 70.
Here, we, Wallace, a four-time DP World Tour winner and one-time PGA Tour winner, and caddie Jamie Lane started to think.
What if we tricked ourselves? What if we were already down strokes to start a tournament, instead of after one day? We’d get fired up — from the opening bell. Couldn’t hurt. We would take it seriously, too.
So Thursday, during the Mexico Open first round, we believed we stood on the first hole — at four-over.
We birdied that hole, so we were three-over. Bogeyed the fourth, so we were back to four-over. Birdied 6, 7 and 9 and bogeyed 10, so we were two-over. Birdied 15, 16 and 18, putting us at a decent one-under.
Only, yeah, we had actually shot a five-under.
“Yesterday obviously in the afternoon Jamie came up with — well, basically we started tournaments pretty poorly this year,” we said Friday, “and it’s kind of been like, OK, we’ll see how it goes to start the tournament on Thursday. We find ourselves behind the 8-ball and then we’ve played really well on Fridays because we’ve been determined to get the score back.
“So we kind of came up with a system of starting over par so we’ve already played one round, right? To make the cut, you’ve got to get yourself into it. So yesterday was four-over and we managed to shoot one-under, which is five-under.”
Would we do it again during Friday’s second round?
Absolutely. This time, we believed we were three-over. Starting on the back nine, we bogeyed the 10th hole, so we were four-over. We birdied 12 and 14, bogeyed 15 and birdied 18, so we were two-over. Our final nine holes were special. We birdied 2, 5 and 7 and eagled 6, so we were three-under.
But really six-under.
And tied for the lead going into the weekend with three others.
“It’s not nice standing on that 10th tee three-over already,” we said. “Then I bogeyed it, so I was four-over so I had to get it back.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
What was Matt Wallace’s strategy for the Mexico Open rounds?
Wallace docked himself 4 and 3 strokes before his rounds, tricking himself to start over par, thereby getting fired up from the beginning and taking the tournament more seriously.
Did the strategy work for Matt Wallace?
Yes, the strategy worked well for him. Despite thinking he was over par, he actually shot a five-under in the first round and a six-under in the second round, putting him in the lead going into the weekend.
What was Matt Wallace’s previous performance in opening rounds?
Wallace had been struggling in opening rounds recently, shooting a 75 at the WM Phoenix Open and a 73 at the Farmers Insurance Open. However, he managed to turn things around in the following rounds.
How did Matt Wallace and his caddie come up with this strategy?
Matt Wallace and his caddie Jamie Lane thought of tricking themselves by starting over par to motivate themselves from the beginning and improve their performance in tournaments.
Will Matt Wallace continue using this strategy in future tournaments?
Yes, Matt Wallace plans to continue using this strategy in future tournaments to ensure a strong start and maintain focus throughout the rounds.
What was Matt Wallace’s strategy for improving his performance in opening rounds?
Wallace and his caddie came up with a strategy to trick themselves by starting over par, which motivated them from the beginning and resulted in better performance in tournaments.
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