Gallacher has deep faith in fellow Scots

Gleneagles hope says others can put themselves in frame

STEPHEN GALLACHER currently stands alone amongst his compatriots in his quest to live the Ryder Cup dream at Gleneagles in September.

The 39-year-old three-time European Tour winner from Bathgate is 87 places higher, in ninth, in the Race to Dubai than the next best-placed Scot, David Drysdale from Berwickshire.

Just outside the automatic qualifiers in 14th overall in the Ryder Cup points table, Gallacher appears the only realistic hope of the host nation having a representative in the 40th biennial match.

But he was not so quick to dismiss the chances of his countrymen ahead of this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, given the record of Scots in the European Tour’s flagship tournament in recent years.

‘I was fourth four years ago, Marc (Warren) lost in a play-off last year, Paul (Lawrie) was tied second in 2012 and Richie (Ramsay) has had a top 10, so it’s a tournament where the Scots tend to do well,’ he pointed out.

‘Any one of them is capable of putting himself in the running for the Ryder Cup. You see it happening all the time, two good back-to-back weeks in big events, where there are a lot of points to be had and it all changes.

‘Look at Phil Mickelson last year. The Scottish Open champion one week, The Open champion the next.

‘There’s a raft of big tournaments coming up and this is the time when you need to make a push. It’s so tough to qualify for the team. You need to do something special and, for me, I need to have the best year of my career to make it.

‘Wentworth’s a great track and they have

made it tougher. It’s mostly bunkers now and they’re so deep.

‘But it’s also down to the elements as well. If the weather is kind and the course is a bit firmer, it can play better.

‘It’s a great field, the biggest of the year on our tour with all the boys coming back and supporting the event, so it’s one we all want to win.

‘It’s the start of everything. Your aim is to go to Wentworth, play well and then peak for a couple of months, starting there.’

Ramsay, Warren and Lawrie sit 101st, 111th and 151st respectively on the money list with another past European Tour winner, Scott Jamieson, 122nd.

‘Paul and Richie have been injured and Scott has just become a father for the first time, so they haven’t had an opportunity to build any momentum,’ Gallacher added.

‘I think it’s unfair to make judgments about the Scottish players, especially as we’ve not had a chance to rub off on each other over a handful of tournaments.’

However, lack of togetherness has not been an impediment to Gallacher, who has risen to 40th in the world rankings, courtesy of becoming the first player to successfully defend the Dubai Desert Classic title, his joint sixth place in the WGC Cadillac Championship and a tie for 34th on his Masters debut.

Gallacher missed the cut in the recent TPC Championship, generally regarded as the fifth major, but added: ‘I am starting to feel more comfortable playing in the States now I’m getting to know more of the guys.

‘I now know what to expect and the exam paper is pretty tough. You’ve got to be on your game in events like the TPC.

‘Even taking Tiger out of the equation, it was pretty much the quality of a major and playing in these tournaments for the first time is great experience.

‘I have to take the positives out of that, but I also need to get my driving in order. I’m usually pretty straight and when I am, I can compete. But even if you are a wee bit crooked on these courses, you can’t get away with it.

‘But it’s a learning curve. Prior to this year I’d played three events in America. Now it’s 11 or 12 and I’ve had a couple of decent results, at Doral and Augusta.

‘I’m learning all the time.’