Gallacher fights back for honourable finish

Published on Monday 6 October 2008 09:55

STEPHEN GALLACHER saved his best for last at St Andrews yesterday as the Lothians golfer finished with a flourish in the Alfred Dunhill Links championship.

The 33-year-old from Bathgate, who won the Dunhill title back in 2004, closed with a rousing seven-under 65 over the Old course for a three-under aggregate of 285 and a share of 24th place, seven shots behind the eventual champion, Robert Karlsson of Sweden, who emerged from a three-man play-off with Martin Kaymer and Ross Fisher to land the first prize of 432,000.

Gallacher, who began his campaign with a 70 on Thursday, saw his title hopes disintegrate with weekend rounds of 76 and 74 but the former Walker Cup player seized on the benign conditions and hauled himself up the standings with a final-day charge.

Birdies at the first, seventh and eighth had Gallacher three-under at the turn and he enhanced his card with a purposeful surge of four straight birdies from the tenth to the 13th. Despite a bogey five at the Road Hole 17th, Gallacher carved out another birdie on the 18th to finish on a high.

Glasgow's Marc Warren, a two-time winner on the European circuit, finished as the top Scot in a tie for 13th on 283 after a closing 69 while Helensburgh's Gary Orr came in on the 286 mark. Alastair Forsyth, the only other Scot to survive the 54-hole cut, ended his campaign on a 293.

At the head of the field, Ryder Cup player Karlsson birdied the first extra-hole of his sudden-death shoot-out with Kaymer and Fisher to win his second successive European Tour event after the leading trio had all finished locked on ten-under aggregates of 278. Karlsson, who won the Mercedes-Benz championship in Germany the week before the Ryder Cup, had set the clubhouse target with Fisher after both players signed off with 65s.

Kaymer had the advantage however with a one-shot lead after 16 but having dropped a shot on the 17th, the German youngster missed a title-winning birdie putt from eight feet on the last.

The 23-year-old then missed from 12 feet for birdie on the first extra-hole – Fisher's hopes disappeared when he drove into the Swilcan Burn – but Karlsson made no mistake with his birdie putt after a superb approach to three feet. Karlsson's win has now taken him 112,980 ahead of double Major winner Padraig Harrington in the race for the European Order of Merit title with just four events of the season remaining. The Swede plans to play one more event before the season-ending Volvo Masters while Harrington will only compete at Valderrama. And even if he goes on to win the Harry Vardon Trophy for the first time, Karlsson concedes Harrington's victories this year in the Open Championship and USPGA Championship mean he will be the true European No.1. "I still rate Padraig's year higher than mine," admitted Karlsson. "If you've won two majors there's no doubt who is the best player this year."

Harrington began the final day just two off the lead but could only manage a closing 71 and again pointed to fatigue as the reason.

"I know myself I'm not on top of my game. I'll have a battle on my hands for the Order of Merit for sure."

Until his victory in Cologne, Karlsson had gone two years without a victory but qualified for his second Ryder Cup on the back of nine top-ten finishes this season – including eighth in the US Masters, fourth in the US Open and seventh in the Open.

"I felt at ease after getting that win under my belt and felt very comfortable going out there in the play-off," said the 39-year-old of yesterday's triumph.

Kaymer tried to stay upbeat despite coming so close to glory in regulation play. "It's disappointing, especially after having chances on the last two holes to win, but overall it was a really good week for me," said the German, who has won twice this season, including on home soil just two weeks after his mother died of cancer.

"It has been a very special week to play with my brother and father in the team event."