Golf: Bathgate ace in the hunt at Gleneagles

ON-FORM Stephen Gallacher stayed in contention at the halfway stage in the £1.4m Johnnie Walker Championship - and put a smile back on son Jack's face in the process.

The 35-year-old Lothians star dug deep to card a second-round 70 at Gleneagles for a seven-under-par total of 137.

He's just two shots off the lead in the race for a 233,330 first prize on the PGA Centenary Course, where he's already racked up four top-10s in this event.

"It was a game of two halves from yesterday to today," said the former Dunhill Links champion of a round that contained three birdies and one bogey. "I played lovely yesterday but was terrible today.

"I drove it really badly and was in the cabbage more than I was on the fairway most of the day.

"But my short game was brilliant - it was phenomenal really.

"It was a great two-under - I turned a 75 into a 70 - and keeps me in it given the way I did play."

Gallacher's short game has been one of the main reasons he's enjoyed a purple patch in the last three months, climbing to 79th in the world rankings.

"If I'm striking the ball well, I can hit 15 or 16 greens so you don't need much of a short game when that's the case," he added.

"But, if you are struggling with your game, you can't really build a score. You have to rely on your short game - simple as that.

"You've got to get up and down as much as you can and also take your chances.

"I two-putted the ninth for a birdie and hit it stiff twice. I didn't have many chances apart from that."

Gallacher's only dropped shot came at the second hole - his 11th - where he found sand off the tee and left his second in the rough.

"It was a poor drive and I tried to hit it (the bunker shot] clean but duffed it. I could have gone out sideways, I suppose, but that would have left me with a 4-iron to a difficult back pin position."

Watched by wife Helen, dad Jim and grandad Barney, amongst other family and friends, Gallacher had just started his second round when play was suspended due to fog.

"I was on the 13th tee and it was pea soup," he said. "It wasn't an easy tee shot after standing there in the cold for 30 minutes."

Gallacher had revealed earlier in the week that son Jack had been disappointed to hear his dad had an early day two tee time. That meant the nine-year-old couldn't be at Gleneagles yesterday morning due to the fact he was at school.

"Jack will be delighted I'm here for the weekend," declared Gallacher. "He was taking his ipod touch into school because he got 'golden time' for being a good boy this week and was going to be checking the scores.

"He wasn't very happy last night. He didn't get to come to the golf and Celtic also got beat - that was a real downer for him!"

Gallacher headed off for a session on the range with coach Bob Torrance and admitted: "It's just a timing issue, I think.

"I hit a few good tee shots on my back nine, including the fifth, seventh and the ninth. I hit a drive and rescue to be on in two at the ninth."

Looking ahead to the closing 36 holes, he added: "It's a course that suits my eye and it's also getting better all the time."

Gallacher was one of only four Scots to survive the halfway cut, the others being Marc Warren (-6), Steven O'Hara (-4) and Paul Lawrie (-2).

Marriott Dalmahoy's Mark Kerr bounced back from his opening 78 with a splendid two-under 70 but still missed the cut as did Kings Acre's Andrew Oldcorn after rounds of 80 and 79.