European Tour

DP World Tour Championship 2018

November 15-18

Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

$8,000,000

Live Leaderboard

November 15-18

Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

$8,000,000

Live Leaderboard

Round 2

Wallace cries freedom in Dubai

Round 1

Round 3

Round 4

Round 1

Round 3

Round 4

November 16, 2018

Matt Wallace is seeking his fourth win of a remarkable season as he recorded a bogey-free round of 65 to take a one shot lead into the weekend at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – the eighth and final Rolex Series event of 2018.

- Getty Images

“That's up there with one of the best this year. With it being in round two, as well, it's nice. Haven't done that much this year, improving on the first round. I seem to play really nice the first day and just go backwards. That was nice today and hopefully more on the weekend."

“ I've got rid of all the expectations that have come with playing well and winning; I've expected higher from myself and that's just killed me. So I'm playing with freedom now and trying to place as high as I possibly can come the back nine holes on Sunday and then that's when I normally will try and kick in and want to win a tournament, depending on where I am. Last week was the best week I've had mentally because I've had no expectations and I finished fifth. That's nice.”

A victory on Sunday would make Wallace the 14th player to win four times or more in a European Tour season and the first since Alex Noren in 2016, but he has an elite pack close behind him at Jumeirah Golf Estates

The 2016 Masters Tournament winner Danny Willett fired a 67 to reach ten under par alongside fellow Englishman Jordan Smith and Adrian Otaegui of Spain. Reigning Masters Champion Patrick Reed of the Unites States is one shot further back after a bogey-free round of 66.

“You kind of saw the scoring from this morning, you knew the scoring is pretty low, so you knew there was obviously going to be a few chances out there," said Willett. "Four nice ones in a row to the turn and then a made a silly bogey down 10 and then bounced back nicely again on them last eight holes. It was a little bit up-and-down in there but all in all another 67 was a really solid day."

“I've said it all year, really, since everything has been good. It's nice to be back seeing the lads. It's nice to be back in contention, playing good golf and moving well and actually enjoying the game that you took up many years ago because you loved it. Yeah, really in a nice place.”

In the battle to be crowned Europe's Number One, England's Tommy Fleetwood needs a win to have a chance of successfully defending his Race to Dubai title and he is currently three shots off the lead at eight under par, alongside three-time Race to Dubai winner Rory McIlroy, Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Dean Burmester of South Africa.

“It was a completely different day ball-striking-wise," said Fleetwood. "Yesterday I couldn't have got any more out of that round of golf, and it felt amazing to just get off and I felt like I kind of stole a couple of shots. Today, in a strange kind of way, you know, you can easily look back at shots that I might have -- that I could have done better, but I did so many good things. I will very gladly take that today but ball-striking today was a completely different day to yesterday."

“Every shot seems very important. It's just a completely different feeling to any other week of the year. They are experiences that you have to have and that you want, but yeah, every shot just like a little bit more heightened. All your senses are a little bit heightened and every shot means that little bit more because it all comes down to this. And again, from a tournament perspective, 72 holes is a long time but it's a very short period of time that we've got left now in the grand scheme of the year.”

Defending champion Jon Rahm and Swedish pair Henrik Stenson and Alexander Björk are then at seven under par.

To seal back-to-back Race to Dubai titles Fleetwood also needs Italy's Francesco Molinari to finish outside of the top five, with a 73 leaving the Open Champion eight shots off the lead.