Matt Wallace achieved the highest finish of his professional career on Sunday but there was a sense of what might have been after not winning a first Challenge Tour title.

The Moor Park Golf Club professional, who secured his card for Europe’s second-tier tour after winning last year’s Alps Tour Order of Merit with a historic six tournament victories, was well placed to start his first full Challenge Tour season in the best way possible after moving to the top of the Barclays Kenya Open leaderboard on 12-under-par after the penultimate 18 holes. By the ninth hole of his final round though, a one-shot lead had become a four-shot deficit to eventual champion Aaron Rai.

The 26-year-old, pictured, ultimately needed a fine finish of three birdies in the last four holes to finish in a tie for third place on 13-under, eclipsing his previous best Challenge Tour result of a share of fourth at the Terre dei Consoli Open in October.

Wallace said: “Obviously I wanted to get the win being in the position I was and last year whenever I was in front I kind of got the job done, but I didn’t play well enough in the first ten holes.

“It wasn’t down to nerves because I felt comfortable. I hit some really good shots in the opening holes but I just missed everything, I just didn’t putt well enough.

“I worked quite hard on my putting in the off season but under the gun I didn’t putt well enough and looking back now maybe I should have done a bit more putting practice after round three. But I didn’t do that and that’s something to learn and do next time.”

Having carded rounds of 68, 66 and 67 at Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi, Wallace began his final round with four straight pars. Although he made birdie on the par five seventh, his title challenge was ended with four bogeys between the fifth and tenth.

One of those shots was retrieved on the par three 11th before the Pinner-based professional finished birdie, birdie, par, birdie for a one-under round of 70 to finish four shots behind Rai.

Wallace, who felt he went into the tournament with “my best preparation probably ever”, said: “Third place is very good for the first tournament of the year, it puts me in a position where I can look forward and really try and attack it and if I keep playing the way I am I’m sure the win will come.

“But I like to analyse my game, I like to analyse what I did wrong and what I did right and work towards the next month in Turkey.”

The Turkish Airlines Challenge is the next Challenge Tour event but this does not start until April 20.

Wallace acknowledged the wait is not ideal, but he is looking at the gap between tournaments as an opportunity.

He said: “The start of the year is not great but I can look at it in a positive way. I can work on the stuff that I didn’t do right in the next few weeks and then hopefully that will help me to go two steps better in the next event and get that win.”