Different Strokes: Gallacher fighting for Desert crown

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  • Stephen Gallacher is looking for another Dubai Desert Classic title whilst Tiger Woods has been looking for his tooth.

    Not for the first time this season, Rory McIlroy arrives for a European Tour event as the headline act, but not necessarily the favourite to actually win.

    Two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi it was Martin Kaymer, a three-time former champion, who was expected to lap the field—except the German capitulated tripped up over his own feet down the stretch, allowing the unknown Frenchman Gary Stal to steal his first career win as McIlroy mopped up in second.

    With McIlroy having skipped the Qatar Open, this time out it is Stephen Gallacher who arrives as the man to beat in the Dubai Desert Classic; the Scot having won the tournament on the last two occasions (and finished second and 10th in the two years prior to that). 

    It is surely the most unlikely spell of Scottish dominance since Mel Gibson daubed half his face in blue paint.

    The Desert Classic is one of the iconic events on the European Tour, and undoubtedly the first such event of the calendar year (the whole Middle East swing is coming on leaps and bounds, but the other events still have some real catching up to do). 

    Battle of the big boys. Rory v Gallacher

    That Gallacher, who is admittedly enjoying something of an Indian summer to his career, would suddenly rise up and totally own an event that commands a stellar field every year is the sort of bemusing occurrence only golf can through up.

     “To defend the title in 2014, which was the 25th anniversary of the event, was special with all the former champions in the field,” Gallacher said, with customary understatement (or dourness, depending on how charitable you are). “Dubai is one of my favourite stops on the European Tour because there is always a lot of strength at the top of the field.”

    Past champions include Ernie Els, who lifted the trophy some 21 years ago. It was the South African’s first win on tour and, like the player himself, the tournament and indeed the country has grown rapidly in the years since.

    “I know it has been a long time since I won last in Dubai,” said Els, “but I’m quite excited about my game, especially at the start of a new season.

    “I think everyone knows I love playing in Dubai. I like the lines off the tees and the greens are quite soft so if you get your ball up, you can shoot some good scores.”

    It is an event littered with history, with a great pedigree partly a result of the course layout (which is pleasing to the eye and, in the par-five 18th, has a classic finishing hole). McIlroy emulated Els in making the event his first European tour title back in 2009, while in total the South African has won it three times during his career. 

    Tiger Woods has twice lifted the giant genie lamp that serves as the tournament’s famous trophy, while Mark O’Meara, Colin Montgomerie and Henrik Stenson are among others who have claimed victory and (we can only assume) rubbed the trophy hoping for three wishes.

    Gary Stal would hardly fit in such company (not yet, at least), although admittedly 1993 winner Wayne Westner would probably qualify as a pointless answer if ‘Former Dubai Desert Classic champions’ was a category on the game show.

    McIlroy’s last six starts on the European Tour have seen him go 1-1-1-2-2-2: Fans of mathematical progressions might suggest that the Northern Irishman will now embark on a trio of third-placed finishes, but those familiar with his best work last season will no doubt suspect he is more likely to go back in the opposite direction in the near future.

    Putting his practice in

    In Abu Dhabi, it was a cold putter (particularly during Saturday’s frustrating third round) that kept McIlroy from pushing into a winning position. After some intensive work on that department, however, he is feeling confident.

    “No, there are no issues with the putter,” McIlroy said. “I have done some work [since Abu Dhabi] and I am very happy where my game is.”

    He added: “I have practised, done some drills and the stuff that I usually do [in the run-up to tournaments]. I am starting my putts on the right line, which is half the battle done. I am very comfortable on the Emirates greens.”

    With his legal battle with former management company Horizon set to hit the courts next week, something that will force McIlroy to take some time away from the game—and could quite conceivably get quite messy quite quickly—the world No. 1 will be determined to head into that unknown with the comfort blanket of another win (and a tea pot to rule them all to add to his dinner set).

    William Wallace eventually met a grisly end at the hands of the English. Stephan Gallacher has had his time, but perhaps this week his grip on this corner of the world will be ripped away.

    SING WHEN YOUR WINNING / AMAZING GRACE / KICK UP THE HAAS

    Last week saw Bill Haas and Branden Grace win on either side of the Atlantic, meaning they both have six professional wins on their respective tours. At 32 and 26 respectively, that is a trophy haul to rival all but the very best of their contemporaries.

    Haas’s winning record on the PGA Tour is impressive, yet up to now he is probably most famous for a) being Jay’s son (Haas Sr. won nine times on the PGA Tour during his career) and b) being left off last year’s US Ryder Cup team, after Webb Simpson and his fingers of seduction texted their way into captain Tom Watson’s heart the night before the wildcards were announced.

    Bill Haas celebrating his win

    Perhaps this lack of killer instinct, or vague blandness about his being, is why Haas has yet to so much as contend in a major his career (his best finish a t-12th in the 2011 US PGA)—even though only a handful of players can match his record of six PGA Tour wins since 2010. 

    “Right now, I mean, I just don’t think I’m quite as good as Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods,” Haas said on Sunday. “But I do think I can play with them. All it takes is one week. 

    “To hang with them … if I can only win one a year for the rest of my career, I would be completely happy.  Maybe that’s just [why I haven’t contended in majors], maybe I’m easily satisfied or something.”

    That might be a strange mindset in the world of professional sport, but it is not one most can reasonably criticise—Haas’s career is already a successful one, and pressuring himself to pour his entire being into pursuing a major win might hurt his game more than it helps. 

    Grace, however, seems to be cut slightly differently—evidently seeing this winning habit he has acquired as preparation for bigger challenges ahead. Like Haas, at the Qatar Open Grace played himself to the top of a packed Sunday leaderboard, with an eagle at the par-four 16th (where he hit his drive to about six feet) setting the South African up for a one-shot win.

    “This is one of the wins that’s really putting me back on the map now,” Grace, who also started 2012 with two early wins, said on Saturday. “I think I’ll be in the Top‑50 or just outside who, knows. 

    “So these are the things that we need as golfers to push us to the next level.  Just nice that I could do it at a place like this and in a special way like this. If I can just keep that frame of mind going into the big events like the WGCs and the major, you ever know.  Some of those courses you play, they just suit you.”

    Branden Grace lifting the silverware

    Grace finished  in a tie for 18th on his Masters debut in 2013, and has made the cut in all four of his Open Championship appearances. Having won at St Andrews in the Dunhill Links Championship back in 2012, he may be worth keeping an eye on as the year matures.

    CAN TIGER RAISE THE ROOF AGAIN?

    This week sees Tiger Woods return to the Waste Management Phoenix Open for the first time in 14 years. Last time he graced TPC Scottsdale he was a 25-year-old with just five majors to his name (pah, pathetic!), although it’s safe to assume his virtual self has played the course millions of times in the hands of others on versions of his EA Sports video game since that appearance.

    After his masterclass in duffed chips on his last appearance of 2014, expectations of Woods’ performance on his 2015 bow are understandably low, with many people more interested in whether the case of the missing tooth has successfully been resolved.

    Still, after focusing in this space on an underwater hole-in-one last week, it seems apposite to recall another great ace this time around. Woods and the famous 16th hole at Scottsdale have an illustrious history, combining to produce one of the most memorable moments outside of a major way back in 1997 (when he hadn’t even won one major yet!). 

    Who knows, maybe he can produce something similar this time around?

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