Sport360° view: Evidence suggests Gallacher should be a Ryder shoo-in

Joy Chakravarty 15:22 02/09/2014
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  • Big chance: Gallacher could be one of the wildcard selections today.

    Before the start of last week’s Italian Open, the final event in the year-long qualifying series to determine the nine automatic spots for the European Ryder Cup team, captain Paul McGinley said that if there is one prerequisite condition his wild card picks would have to meet, it is the ability to perform under pressure.

    Unfortunately, of the three names which have been mentioned the most with regards to his picks – Ian Poulter, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood – none match that criterion based on their recent records.

    Poulter has struggled pretty much throughout the season with just two top-10 finishes in 2014, and except for a four-under par 67 in the opening round of this week’s Deutsche Bank Championship, has not shown any spark in his last few tournaments. Same goes for Donald. Around the time of the Masters, where he missed the cut, the former world No1 seemed to be getting back into some kind of form. But since his tied-third finish at the BMW PGA Championship, he has not recorded a single top-10.

    Westwood was the only one to show some pluck. A final-round 63 at WGC-Bridgestone, followed by a tied 15th at the PGA Championship felt like the Englishman was fighting his way back into form, but he could not make it past the first week in the ongoing FedEx Cup Playoffs.

    However, one man who has done just what the captain ordered is Stephen Gallacher, and his fantastic effort at the Italian Open needs to be rewarded. The twice Dubai Desert Classic champion entered the tournament with a gun against his head – he needed to finish inside the top two to knock out Graeme McDowell from the ninth automatic spot – and his gallant effort fell one shot short as he finished third.

    Outside the projected cutline halfway through his second round in Turin, Gallacher made a stunning comeback that featured 17 birdies and just one bogey in his last 45 holes.

    In 2014, apart from winning the Dubai Desert Classic, which included Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in the field, Gallacher recorded eight top-10 finishes. 

    At world No34 before his heroics in Turin, the Scot is ranked higher than Poulter (No35) and Westwood (No37) and he will surely close the gap against Donald (No29), who did not have the best of times at the Deutsche Bank Championship. And at No9 in the Race to Dubai, he is placed way higher than the other three stars.

    One big factor that should go in Gallacher’s favour is that he is the local hero at Gleneagles, living just 60km down the road. As we have seen before with Darren Clarke at the 2006 Ryder Cup at K Club, home support can do amazing things to a player’s game and confidence.

    McGinley is also sure to factor in the fact that in the last tournament played at Gleneagles, the Johnnie Walker Championship in 2013, Gallacher finished second.

    So, the 39-year-old Scot ticks all the boxes – he is currently in form, he has had a great season, he is ranked higher and he has the local knowledge. 

    If after all this, Gallacher is not named as one of McGinley’s three picks today, it really would be a travesty of justice.

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