Dubai mix-up leaves Gallacher frustrated

AS three Scots – Richie Ramsay, Paul Lawrie and Scott Jamieson – prepared to set out in the first round of the Dubai World Championship, Stephen Gallacher’s agony over missing out on the season-ending event by one place has been compounded after Fredrik Jacobsen was deemed ineligible.

The Swede is lying 36th in the Race to Dubai, but has not played the minimum number of European Tour events. In fact, he didn’t play in any regular events at all, having pocketed the bulk of his earnings from finishing second in the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

Bizarrely, Jacobsen had already been discounted from the money-list along with Ryan Moore and Tom Lewis in terms of the 115 players hanging on to their cards for next season, but he was still included when it came to the 60 spots up for grabs in Dubai. With Justin Rose having withdrawn earlier in the week so that he could return to America to be with his wife as she prepares to give birth, it means the field is down to 58, with 59th-ranked Jamieson out in the first group, closely followed by Lawrie (57th).

Ramsay is sitting 26th on the money-list, with an added incentive for him this week being that he’ll secure an exemption for next year’s Open if he can stay inside the top 30 come Sunday night.