Matt Wallace may have been unable to translate being the Barclays Kenya Open third round leader into a first victory on the Challenge Tour but he can still reflect on a very good week after achieving his best result as a professional.

The Moor Park Golf Club player started yesterday’s final round at Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi with a one-shot lead after moving to 12-under-par in the opening event of the year in Europe’s second-tier tour.

By the ninth hole though, the 26-year-old had seen his slender cushion turn into a four-shot deficit as eventual champion Aaron Rai went out in three-under-par 33 while Wallace turned in a two-over 38.

A fourth bogey of the round on the par five 10th was immediately cancelled out by a birdie on the par three second. But it was a sequence of three birdies in the closing four holes for the second time in three rounds that enabled Wallace to move to one-under for the round, 13-under for the tournament and into a share of third place with Italy’s Francesco Laporta, four shots behind Rai.

Although Wallace won six times during his historic season on last year’s Alps Tour, this result surpasses his previous best Challenge Tour finish of a share of fourth place at the Terre dei Consoli Open in October.