Stephen Gallacher says talk of golf restart not important as virus claims life of friend’s father

Stephen Gallacher has joined the chorus of top golfers casting doubt over the likelihood of a revamped schedule allowing three of the four men’s majors to be played later in the year after seeing the coronavirus claim the life of a close friend’s father.

Stephen Gallacher can't envisage a revamped golf schedule resuming until September. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty

“It is hitting home. It is getting real,” said the four-time European Tour winner of being left in shock by someone he knew being one of the
447 deaths in Scotland that have been linked to Covid-19.

Gallacher’s last game of golf before courses shut down en masse in the UK in accordance with government guidelines was a four ball at Gullane that included his close friend, Adam Cairns.

“I feel gutted for him that he’s lost his dad and people talking about when golf might be up and running again around the world is not the most important thing at the moment,” he added. “There’s no doubt we will play again, but we have to make sure we get through this with as few deaths as we can.”

While the R&A has cancelled the 149th Open, which was due to be held at Royal St George’s in July, the US PGA Championship, US Open and The Masters have been rescheduled for August, September and November respectively.

Marc Warren, a three-time European Tour winner, said earlier in the week that he’d been “surprised” to see new dates set for those three majors at a time when lots of countries around the world are still in lockdown to the coronavirus.

Referring specifically to the US PGA Championship at Harding Park in San Francisco, 2016 Open champion Henrik Stenson has now cast doubt on it going ahead in the first week in August.

“There’s no way we can have a major championship in San Francisco and half of the guys can’t make it there because of travel restrictions. That’s just not going to work,” the Swede told Sky Sports News.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see more PGA Tour events in June cancelled, and it’s only a month and a half after those events that we’re looking at the PGA Championship. There are certainly more questions than answers at the moment.

“We’re all keen to get back to playing and I think fans, even if they might not be able to go and watch the tournament in person, are keen to see world-class golf being played again from the safety and comfort of their own home. That’s 
certainly the second-best alternative.”

Numerous events have already been either postponed or cancelled on the European Tour, with the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, which is scheduled for The Renaissance Club in the second week in July, now in serious doubt after the R&A’s decision to cancel The Open It will be the first time the world’s oldest major has not been played since 1945, the last year of the Second World War.

“I think The Open was the big thing,” said Gallacher. “That being cancelled was huge and I honestly can’t see us playing the Scottish Open now. It’s all speculation at the moment and I can’t see us playing for the foreseeable future.

“July and August are predominantly in Britain. We’d normally have the Scottish Open and The Open and this year’s summer schedule also includes the British Masters at Close House. With The Open off, it looks as though July and also August might be a write off, which means we are looking at September, which sounds bizarre when you say it out loud.

“As far as the Ryder Cup is concerned in September, [European captain] Padraig Harrington has obviously got to plan for it being on at Whistling Straits and it may well be that he goes with 12 picks.”

Gallacher, who is closing on 600 appearances on the European Tour, is focusing more on fitness than golf technique during the current shutdown, which denied him a title defence in the Hero Indian Open last month.

“My nephew is a personal trainer and I am going to use this time to come out the other end being fitter and stronger,” said the 45-year-old. “I have a gym in my garage I use and I am training there four times a week at the moment.

“I’ve been doing the odd cycle as well while I am walking five miles a day with our dog, Smudge, in the morning, using that to get my daily exercise.

“I’m hitting balls in a net in the garage every now and then, but it is hard to stay motivated doing that when you don’t know when we are going to be playing again. You can do drills all day long, if that’s what you feel suits you best, but there is no substitute for the real thing, in my opinion.

“It is just weird not being able to get out on to a golf course at the moment. I look out to Kingsfield from my house and it’s surreal seeing it empty.”