Golf: Forget about world's top two

Gallacher, who is part of the Radio Five Live commentary team for the world's oldest major, is tipping a European to claim the Claret Jug on Sunday and doubts either Woods, who is bidding to become the first player to win three Opens at the 'Home of Golf', or Mickelson will be in the reckoning.

"Tiger is still being distracted and, to be honest, I don't think we'll see the old Tiger until he gets his problems sorted," said Gallacher, the Bathgate boy who went on to become a Ryder Cup-winning captain.

"There's been nothing special about Tiger's game since he came back and he seemed to have lost that touch on the greens that separated him from everyone else. He's missing putts now that he never missed before.

"As for Phil Mickelson, for me at least, he's like a suicide golfer at times. His cavalier play came off for him in The Masters earlier in the year but just look what happened at Loch Lomond last week he took a 9 at the 18th in his second round.

"It is difficult to see St Andrews suiting him with its deep bunkers and pins tucked away as he's not a guy who shies away and plays for the middle of greens. I can't see him getting round this week without a disaster."

In Gallacher's book, the door is wide open for a European to win an Open at St Andrews for the first time since Nick Faldo claimed the title 20 years ago, but his difficulty is pinpointing the main contender.

"I'm very excited about this Open because for the first time in a long time I think a European will win (at the Home of Golf]. It's difficult to say what one as there are a lot of them in the running this week," added the former Wentworth professional.

"We've got Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Luke Donald and, of course, Lee Westwood - it's about time he won an event like this.

"Then there's US Open champion Graeme McDowell, who is going to be a strong contender once again. He knows how to play seaside golf and has played well at St Andrews before, losing to Stephen (Gallacher] in a play-off for the Dunhill Links.

"The win in the US Open has certainly given him a lot of confidence and there's no doubt he's one of the favourites.

"His win at Pebble Beach has really opened the door for a lot of people, like McIlroy, like Westwood. They'll be thinking, 'if he can win, so can I'.

"It's a bit like the old days when Seve Ballesteros won a major.

Suddenly, Nick Faldo said 'we play against Seve every week and if he can win a major so can I'. Bernhard Langer said the same, as did Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle and Jose Maria Olazabal.

"Seve opened the door for European golfers and the same will happen here. I know the likes of Poulter, Casey and Donald will be saying, 'damn he's beaten me to a major'.

"The Europeans are all young and hungry. Gregory Havret showed the strength of European golf when he finished second to Graeme McDowell in the US Open and I think it makes for an exciting Open from a British and European perspective."

The Scottish contingent is six strong on this occasion and includes Gallacher's nephew, Stephen, as well as European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie, who shot a 62 at Sunningdale a few weeks back to secure his Open spot for the 21st consecutive year.

"It was a great effort from Monty to qualify and it showed there is a determination there," said Gallacher. "However, he really needs to put all this Ryder Cup stuff behind him and concentrate on his own golf. The Ryder Cup is fine without him promoting it every day.

"It is going to happen and he's done his homework so he should just concentrate on his own golf for the moment.

"He needs to relax up until the Ryder Cup, get on Tour and play his own golf - the players, I'm sure, would prefer that.

"Stephen is playing well at the moment. He's getting some consistency. I think it's good he's here and I am sure he'll plot his way around the course, as Nick Faldo did when he won in 1990.

"He showed there is a lot more to St Andrews than meets the eye. Although it looks wide open on the left at every hole, you sometimes can't get at the flags from over there.

"You need to plot your way around. Sometimes it's better being short up the right than long left as that gives you the right angle into the hole.

"No-one plotted their way round the course better than Nick Faldo and, if you could get his notebooks from that Open, that would be a huge advantage."

While Gallacher himself never played all that well in an Open at St Andrews, he has two particular memories that stand out from previous events in the Auld Grey Toon.

"One of the memories indelibly on my mind is when Doug Sanders lost to Jack Nicklaus in 1970.

"I was still an amateur. I remember watching him play the last hole and, like everyone else I suspect, expected him to hole that putt.

"I think we were all supporting Doug Sanders because we felt he deserved it after being a strong supporter of British golf. My other fond memory, of course, is Seve's winning putt in 1984 and there are a lot of people hurting over the fact he's not here this week.

"He's hurting, I'm certainly hurting and a lot of his fans will be hurting. We are all just praying he gets better."

One of the main talking points at St Andrews this week has been the decision to extend the Road Hole by 40 yards, meaning it is now playing at just under 500 yards.

"It will still be a great hole because it's all about the second shot," said Gallacher. "That's just going to be a longer shot now into a narrow green.

"The Road Hole bunker is almost unplayable and, to be honest, I think the skill of bunker play has been taken out of the Old Course as it's purely about getting out."

Twelve months ago at Turnberry, in his radio role, Gallacher had the pleasure of following Tom Watson in three of his four rounds as he almost added a sixth Open title at the age of 59.

"Even now I'm still gutted for him," said the Scot. "At the 72nd hole, he hit the most perfect tee shot and perfect second.

"But his ball ran into a slight cuppy lie. If it had been a perfect lie I think he would have wedged it up there.

"The old Tom Watson would have got down in two but perhaps he showed his age. However, he's still got the golf and he's a man for the big occasion. Even though I fancy all these Europeans and they've got good games, what they have to overcome is the occasion.

"The Open at St Andrews brings its own pressures because you want to follow in the footsteps of Nicklaus, Peter Thomson, Bobby Locke, Tiger Woods and Nick Faldo, who are all big players in the history of the game.

"Remember when Lorena Ochoa won the British Women's Open a few years ago here. She was crying when she came up the last - that's what it meant for a woman from Mexico.

"That's the sort of pressure the European players will all have to overcome this week."..