Golf: Duddingston deal in John

The former Scottish Amateur champion has secured an  attachment at Duddingston  after ending his long association with Swanston.

The new link-up is the perfect pre-season boost for Gallagher, who is out in Spain playing on the Gecko Tour in preparation for a full-out assault on the PGA EuroPro Tour.

“Duddingston is a great place for me to be based,” he said. “It is up there with the best when it comes to golf courses in Edinburgh and everyone has been so welcoming.

“It’s a real boost for me to be attached to a club that is steeped in golfing history through the achievements of players like Ronnie Shade. Now I am hoping to get Duddingston mentioned on Sky Sports and in the newspapers through my own performances.”

Gallagher finished 61st on last year’s PGA  EuroPro Tour  Order of Merit, missing out  on the season-ending Tour Championship by just 2p.

The 2013 circuit includes four events in Scotland – at Moray, Rowallan Castle, Mar Hall and Montrose – and the 31-year-old is eager to get started.

“Last year was tough for me off the course and I was knocked for six,” he said, referring to the death of his mother.

“I can laugh now about missing out on the Tour Championship by 2p but it was painful at the time. However, I know this year will be a lot better and it’s great that we’ve got four events in Scotland. When I first joined the EuroPro Tour most of the tournaments were down in England and a lot of them in the London area.”

Scott Jamieson, currently leading the Race to Dubai, used the EuroPro Tour as a stepping stone in his professional career.

Duncan Stewart and Wallace Booth earned Challenge Tour cards off the third-tier circuit last season and now Gallagher is aiming to follow in their spikemarks.

“Scott Jamieson is a perfect example of how things can quickly change in this  sport, which is definitely a confidence game,” said the  cack-hander.

In addition to Jamieson, the confidence levels among  plenty of Scottish golfers is running high at the moment.

In just more than a year, there have been five tartan triumphs on the European Tour – two for Paul Lawrie and one each for Jamieson, Richie Ramsay and, most recently, Lothians star Stephen Gallacher.

“I remember doing a television interview when I played in the Scottish Open and the talk then was about Scottish golf being in turmoil,” recalled the other Gallagher.

“Now it’s booming and in just the last week or so we’ve seen Stevie Gallacher win in Dubai, James Byrne win on the Asian Development Tour and David Law win on the Pro Golf Tour in Turkey.”