Stephen Gallacher shrugs off Celtic 'blip' to share halfway lead in Oman Open

Stephen Gallacher shrugged off the disappointment of his beloved Celtic crashing out of the Europa League to claim a share of the halfway lead in the $1.75 million Oman Open.
Stephen Gallacher on his way to a bogey-free five-under-par 67 in the second round of the Oman Open at the Greg Norman-designed Al Mouj Golf in Muscat. Picture: Getty ImagesStephen Gallacher on his way to a bogey-free five-under-par 67 in the second round of the Oman Open at the Greg Norman-designed Al Mouj Golf in Muscat. Picture: Getty Images
Stephen Gallacher on his way to a bogey-free five-under-par 67 in the second round of the Oman Open at the Greg Norman-designed Al Mouj Golf in Muscat. Picture: Getty Images

The 45-year-old, who started the day two shots off the pace after an opening 68, was in brilliant form as he added a bogey-free five-under-par 67 at the Greg Norman-designed Al Mouj Golf in Muscat.

Gallacher, who tied for ninth in this event at the same venue two years ago, birdied the fifth, seventh, eighth, 12th and 13th holes in halves of 33-34 as he moved to nine-under-par alongside 18-year-old Dane Rasmus Hojgaard.

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"It was tough from the get-go this morning in the wind - we had four holes straight into it at the start - and it never really dropped," said the four-time European Tour winner after signing for his first bogey-free round in 18 months

Danish 18-year-old Rasmus Hjgaard is sharing the lead in Muscat, having already won the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in his rookie season on the European Tour. Picture: Getty ImagesDanish 18-year-old Rasmus Hjgaard is sharing the lead in Muscat, having already won the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in his rookie season on the European Tour. Picture: Getty Images
Danish 18-year-old Rasmus Hjgaard is sharing the lead in Muscat, having already won the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in his rookie season on the European Tour. Picture: Getty Images

"You've got to hit the fairways out there, especially when the pins are tucked and the wind is coming from opposite angles. The fairways are generous, but being on the right side of them helps a lot."

The splendid second-day effort was 14 shots less than Gallacher's score in the corresponding round 12 months ago, when he was one of the players to suffer in brutal windy conditions.

"It is one of the best courses we play all year," he added. "It is very demanding. You have to play good golf and, if you don't, you will be found out. Fortunately, I'm playing pretty good just now."

While the 2014 Ryder Cup player returned to winning ways in the Hero Indian Open last March, he managed just one top-25 finish outwith that effort to finish 92nd in the Race to Dubai.

He then missed the cut in his opening two events of the 2020 campaign in Abu Dhabi and Dubai before receiving a much-needed confidence boost with a closing 66 in the Saudi International to finish just outside the top 20.

"I had been struggling a bit and changed some things," he said. "I worked on things before going to Saudi, started to hit some good shots there and it's amazing how things snowball.

"You start to chip better, you start to putt better and you start to compete. By Sunday, you just want to have a chance to win coming down the stretch."

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Gallacher is bidding for a third title triumph in the Middle East following his back-to-back victories in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club in 2013 and 2014.

"It's a good spot to be," he admitted. "But there's still a lot of golf to be played. My aim will be to do the same things I've been doing.

"It's supposed to get windy at the weekend and I'll go and relax now and try and save my energy for that."

Gallacher had a wry smile on his face when he was asked in an interview on Sky Sports Golf about Celtic's exit from the Europa League at the hands of FC Copenhagen following a 4-2 aggregate defeat in the last 32.

"We've had a blip," he said of that. "The team is flying. Neil Lennon is doing a great job, so we are just going to focus on the league and cup now."

Hojgaard, who is 27 years younger than Gallacher, became the third youngest winner in European Tour history when he won the AfrAsia Bank Mauritus Open earlier this season.

Looking as though he going to continue to take the circuit by storm, he carded a 68 for his nine-under total, the pair sitting one ahead of Finn Kalle Samooja (65) and Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts.

Højgaard got the putter working well early with an eagle and two birdies in his first six holes after being bogey-free in Thursday's opening 67.

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"You can’t avoid bogeys out here, so I knew at some point I would drop a shot because in this wind it’s tricky to keep the ball on the greens and fairways,” he said.

"But I’m putting well at the moment and I holed some long putts today which helps. It’s always a bit of a bonus when you make a few of them - and that’s been the key so far.”

Calum Hill carded a four-under 68 in the afternoon to sit joint-19th on three-under, two shots ahead of both Connor Syme (70) and Grant Forrest (73), as four Scots from nine starters made the cut.

Scott Jamieson (72) agonisingly missed out on one-over, while Paul Lawrie, after being four-under for the day early on, finished with a double-bogey 6 for a two-over total alongside Richie Ramsay (73).

As for both David Drysdale and David Law, it was a disappointing couple of days as they finished on seven and eight-over respectively.

Two-time major winner Martin Kaymer produced the shot of the day as he made an ace at the 13th, which he followed with a double-bogey 6 three holes later before signing off with three birdies to sit on two-under.

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