Golf: No let-up for Gallacher despite USPGA exploits

DESPITE feeling exhausted after his top-20 finish in the USPGA Championship, Stephen Gallacher has travelled from Wisconsin to the Czech Republic this week because he fears being frozen out of some European Tour events later in the season.

The 35-year-old is enjoying the best run of his career and is now up to 83rd in the world, having started the year down at 451st after missing the second half of last season due to illness.

He's also lying 23rd in this year's Race to Dubai but is not guaranteed to get in any of the events between the Dunhill Links Championship, in early October, and the Dubai World Championship, at the end of November, on the strength of his ranking from last season's Tour Qualifying School.

That's why Gallacher, unlike Rhys Davies and Darren Clarke - amongst others - has decided to play in the Czech Open starting tomorrow despite the combination of a tough week at Whistling Straits and a lot of travelling over the past week or so taking its toll on the Scot.

"I'm shattered but I've got to keep playing because I might struggle to get into tournaments later in the season," he told the Evening News from Heathrow following a quick turnaround back home in Linlithgow.

"Realistically, I could miss five big tournaments between the Dunhill Links and the Dubai World Championship so that's why my focus has to be on playing at the moment."

The Portugal Masters, which boasts a 2.5million prize fund, is straight after the Dunhill Links, with the new Andalucia Masters at Valderrama another big-money event Gallacher could miss out on despite the fact he's now the leading Scot in the world rankings.

"I'm going to be looking for some invites and it would be nice if my recent form helped me get into a few events," he added.

Despite his recent form - he's missed the cut just once in his last 18 events and also finished just outside the top 20 in the Open Championship at St Andrews - Gallacher reckons it is a "tall order" for him to become a late contender for one of Colin Montgomerie's three wild cards for the Ryder Cup.

"This week is a big tournament, as is next week's Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, where I love playing as well," he said.

"But, even though I've played with the world No.?2 (Phil Mickelson] and world No 4 (Steve Stricker] in recent weeks and held my own with them, I still don't think the Ryder Cup is a real possibility."

Gallacher just missed out on the top-15 finish in Wisconsin that would have secured his place in next year's USPGA Championship in Atlanta.

But, after playing four rounds on one of the most demanding courses in the world without going over the par of 72, he was understandably pleased with his performance.

"It was a brilliant event to play in and the way I played was a great confidence booster," declared the former Dunhill Links champion.

"I want to be playing in more of these tournaments in the future and it would have been the icing on the cake if I had secured a top-15 finish.

"However, it was my first USPGA Championship for five years and there's no doubt my game has improved a lot since that last occasion.

"My main goal now for the rest of the season to keep climbing as high as I possibly can in the world rankings.

"I'm delighted to be up to 83rd now and it would be great if I could get into the top 50 again."

One disappointment for Gallacher between now and the end of the year is that he won't get the chance to represent Scotland in the World Cup.

That's because the event, which has a permanent home at Mission Hills in China at the moment, is now a biennial affair.

"It would have been myself and Martin Laird if the event was being held this year and that would have been nice for both of us," noted Gallacher.

"It's a bit disappointing it is every two years now but I've still got the Dubai World Championship to look forward to at the end of the season."

As things stand, Gallacher and Richie Ramsay are the only two Scots on course to make the big-money bonus event in Dubai. The top 60 in the Race to Dubai qualify and Ramsay, the South African Open champion, is lying 24 spots behind his compatriot.

Paul Lawrie and Peter Whiteford, lying 69th and 70th respectively, are still in with a shout, with David Drysdale, the sole Scot in last year's inaugural event, sitting 81st at the moment and needing a good run of form to book his return ticket.