Gallant Gallacher Stakes Claim for Ryder Cup Spot

Hennie Otto wins the Italian Open by 2 from David Howell but Stephen Gallacher stakes his claim for a Ryder Cup spot with this heroic effort with a final round 65 and finishing 3rd. Derek Clements reports.

---

THERE are those who look at Stephen Gallacher and see a mild-mannered, quiet, unemotional Scot. Their numbers will have been reduced hugely, however, after his incredible performance at the Italian Open - one that proved that, inside the man, beats a heart of steel.

Gallacher arrived in Italy in 10th place in the European Ryder Cup qualification table, knowing he had to win or finish no worse than tied second with one other player to remove Graeme McDowell from the final automatic position.

After an opening round of 72, his chances seemed to have gone. Incredibly, however, Gallacher followed that with rounds of 65 and 69 and went into the final round on 10 under par, six behind leader Hennie Otto but, crucially, just four adrift of fellow Scot Richie Ramsay in second place.

https://twitter.com/ESPNUK/status/506108824084684800/photo/1

He knew that he had to produce something extra special during his final 18 holes - if not to move up to ninth place in the table then at least to catch the eye of Paul McGinley, the captain. And what a start he made. Gallacher birdied the first and second, the fourth and fifth and the seventh and eighth to reach the turn in a remarkable 30 shots. He was 16 under, two behind Otto but, crucially, three ahead of Ramsay and David Howell. In other words, he had moved into the second position that he required.

Howell had opened with an eagle and then birdied the seventh, eighth and ninth to reach the turn in 31. But he still trailed Gallacher, and all seemed well. Then Howell birdied the 11th, 12th, 13th and 15th to go 18 under. He now trailed Otto by one. And with Gallacher only managing a birdie at the 12th, the Scot found himself 17 under, in third place. He knew it would not be good enough.

That was how it stood with two holes to play. The tension was unbearable. Could Gallacher find another birdie? Would Howell drop a shot? Or could Otto help the Scot out by dropping shots? The leader still had four holes to play.

Howell ground out a par at the 17th. He had dropped a shot at the 18th during the third round - Gallacher was praying that he would do the same again.This time, the Englishman made a par to sign off with a magnificent final round of 63. And with Otto picking up another birdie, Gallacher came to the 18th knowing that nothing else but a birdie of his own would do.

Sadly, he couldn't quite do it. In the circumstances, his final round of 65 was a staggering effort. Otto finished with a 20-under-par total of 268 and won by two shots.

https://twitter.com/GolfChannel/status/506098131600437248/photo/1

But the focus was on Gallacher and his heroic effort to make the team. He missed out by the tiniest of margins but McGinley will surely reward his efforts, and his consistency throughout the campaign, by giving him a wild card slection on Tuesday. McGinley has three picks, and the men in contention are Ian Poulter, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, as well as Gallacher. Nobody has done more to make the team than Gallacher, who has also played better than his three rivals all year.

On top of that, he lives just 35 miles from Gleneagles, knows the course well and has had some success there.

"It was a tall order, but I'm proud of the way I played," said Gallacher. "You can't get any closer than that. It comes down to somebody else's opinion [now]. There are four or five guys who are worthy of it, so it just comes down to what Paul sees."

And so we now know the identities of nine members of the European team - Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer, Sergio Garcia, Victor Dubuisson, Jamie Donaldson, Thomas Bjorn, and Graeme McDowell.

McGinley will surely pick Poulter, Gallacher and Donald. Many people will make a case for Westwood, but he has played poorly throughout 2014 and, frankly, his Ryder Cup record is not terribly good.

More Ryder Cup coverage: www.golfshake.com/news/rydercup/

---

Derek Clements is a sports journalist with a particular passion for golf with over 12 years of experience covering golf and other sports including Chief Sub-Editor on the sports desk of The Sunday Times. To contact Derek email direct via [email protected]