Did Matt Wallace "try too hard" to make Europe's Ryder Cup team?

Matt Wallace has been unable to get into Europe’s Ryder Cup team because “he tries too hard”, according to his former agent.

Andrew “Chubby” Chandler, whose list of clients included Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke, made the bizarre claim after Wallace missed out on a place in Luke Donald’s side for this month’s contest at Bethpage.

Wallace came agonisingly close to a successful defence of his Omega European Masters title in Switzerland last weekend, knowing that only a victory would have given Donald a selection headache ahead of announcing his captain’s picks the following day.

But after finishing two shots behind Thriston Lawrence, Wallace broke down in tears in his post-round interview, insisting: “I will never give up on the Ryder Cup, I just won’t.”

It was another close call for the 35-year-old, who was also a strong candidate for a captain’s pick in 2018 when he won the final qualifying event in Denmark in front of captain Thomas Bjorn, only to be overlooked by the Dane when he announced his wildcards.

“I feel sorry for him,” Chandler said in an interview with CasinoHawks. “I managed him for about six or seven years and it was a tough watch seeing him interviewed on Sunday, but that's why he doesn't make it.

“He doesn't make the team because he tries too hard, and I always found it difficult when I managed the guy. How do you tell somebody not to try too hard? It's perverse.

“If they don't try, you kill them. But he actually tries so hard, and he can't actually quite let it go.

“He's got a big mountain to climb because he's done it twice now, don't forget. He's almost done it three times because he nearly made it in 2018.

“I was managing him when he won Denmark and then he nearly won the next week and he still had a chance to have a pick but you have to be pretty special to force your way into this team.”

Matt Fitzpatrick, who played alongside Wallace in the final grouping at Crans-sur-Sierre, was among the six players named by Donald as captain’s picks on Monday, but his place was in doubt until his form picked up over the second half of the summer.

Chandler added: “We'd be talking about a US Open champion that played great for four months in Matt Fitzpatrick not getting the pick and in the end he was always going to get the pick, even though he’s a poor Ryder Cup player.

“Matt Wallace is the 13th man and that’s terrible to say. It’s tough on him. His interview was harrowing. To watch somebody break down like that, it’s not an easy watch.”