Golf: Gallacher faces a change of challenge in Malaysian heat

STEPHEN GALLACHER is bracing himself for one of the toughest tests of the year after swapping shivering Scotland for melting Malaysia.

The Bathgate man is one of eight Scots in the field for the Maybank Malaysian Open, which gets underway in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.

It's the first event on the European Tour since the Avantha Masters in India a fortnight ago and the conditions will be a bigger test than normal for the likes of Gallacher due to the weather in Scotland recently.

"Everyone struggles in the heat out there," said the former Dunhill Links champion as he sheltered from the wind and rain last week during a practice session at the Kingsfield Golf Centre at Linlithgow.

"Even your trousers get wet and that can make you feel really uncomfortable out on the course, believe me.

"You've got to take on loads of fluids but the more you play there the more you get used to it, I suppose."

After missing the cut in his opening three events of the year, Gallacher was heartened by top-50 finishes in both Qatar and Dubai.

"Due to the bad weather, I've not been able to get out on the course since Dubai but I have been working hard, both on my game and also the fitness side," he added.

"I'm hitting the ball well and I'm looking forward to the run of events we've got coming up in Europe, especially as they're on courses I've played in the past."

Andrew Coltart and David Drysdale are also in the field in Malaysia, the latter having stopped off in Dubai on the way to escape the weather here and practice in the sun.