Passion and hunger still there for Gallacher after joining 500 Club
THE 500 Club on the European Tour is a select gathering of bodies who have achieved something that not many have managed. It’s a bit like the Mile High Club … but without a reprimand from the Civil Aviation Authority.
“I didn’t really have a clue that I was approaching 500 tour events until someone mentioned it to me last season,” said Stephen Gallacher, who is set to reach that particular landmark at this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and will become just the 32nd player to break through the 500 barrier.
It’s almost 25 years now since Gallacher first dipped a tentative toe into the European Tour’s waters as a teenage amateur. “It was the 1993 Scottish Open at Gleneagles and the one thing that sticks in my mind is how fast the greens were and how tough it was generally,” he reflected. “As a young amateur it was a rude awakening. At the same time, it really whetted the appetite and made me even more determined to make it.” Of course, Gallacher would return to Gleneagles in 2014 as a Ryder Cup player and finally realise an ambition that had been his driving force throughout a profitable career. “It took me 400 odd events to get there but I made it,” he said.
In the topsy-turvy world of professional golf, Gallacher has experienced the kind of ups and downs that used to be the reserve of the Grand Old Duke of York’s legions. There was a maiden win at St Andrews in 2004, a debilitating virus which attacked his lungs and joints in 2009, a return to the winner’s podium in 2013 and 2014, a Ryder Cup debut on home soil and a niggling hand injury which left him fearing it might be all over last season. Here in 2017, Gallacher is raring to go again. “It’s a new start and I feel refreshed and invigorated,” added the 42-year-old. “The passion and hunger is still there. As long as you have that you still have a chance of competing. Once that goes it’s time to chuck it. I feel just as up for it now as I did when I was a kid. There’s been highs 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow G2 3QB. email: sport@theherald.co.uk. Tel 0141 302 6590 Head of Sport Stewart Weir and lows but for all the lows, the highs outnumber them easily. There was a point last year, with set back after set back, when I was thinking ‘how long is this going to take?’ But you just have to stay positive. You have to keep believing that you’ll come out the other end better for it.”
While the looming 500th event provides a suitable opportunity to reflect on a sporting life, Gallacher, who has slithered down to 370th on the world rankings, is keen to keep looking forward.