You probably don't know much about Stephen Gallacher, but he might be getting the loudest cheers at this week's Ryder Cup.
The Ryder Cup returns to Scotland, also known as the "home of golf," for the first time since the 1973 contest at Muirfield. And good thing Stephen Gallacher made a late push for a captain's pick or else no native Scot would be on the team. Gallacher will be the home favorite at Gleneagles, a rookie who made it a season-long goal to make the team so he could play in front of the Scottish fans.
Gallacher began that push for a Ryder Cup spot playing alongside Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods at the Dubai Desert Classic. He was the unknown third-wheel tagging alongside the two biggest stars in the game for the first two rounds in Dubai. But by Sunday evening, it was Gallacher, and not Woods or Rory, raising the trophy at the Euro Tour's flagship event of their Middle East collection of tournaments.
It was Gallacher's second straight victory at that prestigious event, and it set him up nicely for a run at qualifying for the team on points alone. Relying on a captain's pick would be a dangerous proposition, given all the experienced and talented options on the European side. There are just so many big names with undeniably successful records that there was going to be a lot of elbowing to try and occupy those final three spots chosen by Paul McGinley. While the European captain probably could have put together two very solid teams 24 guys deep, at the very end, Gallacher left McGinley no choice but to put him on the team.
The Scot was one shot short of qualifying for the 9th and final spot, finishing in 3rd at the Italian Open -- a second or better result, which he missed by a stroke, would have bumped Graeme McDowell out of an automatic roster spot. But that 3rd place finish, which included a huge weekend charge after it looked like he would miss the cut following an ugly first round, was preceded by a T7 result on the Euro Tour and it was enough to earn a captain's selection. McGinley is a Euro Tour loyalist himself, and there are already several Europe team members who make their home in the states and play full time on the PGA Tour. So he wasn't going to deny Gallacher, a Euro Tour regular who had done everything asked in the final few weeks, the spot for some more experienced player.
And Gallacher got the call, earning the unofficial "second" captain's pick after Ian Poulter and leaving veterans Lee Westwood and Luke Donald to battle it out for the final spot. Gallacher probably won't play every session but there are an array of partnership options. He could go with a veteran like Thomas Bjorn to keep him balanced in the most intense pressure of his life, or he could play with another rookie like Jamie Donaldson, who also plays regularly on the Euro Tour. There's no real obvious choice for the home country favorite.
Age: 39
World ranking: 34
Ryder Cup record (Win-Loss-Halve): 0-0-0
Past Ryder Cup appearance: None
How he qualified: Captain's pick by Paul McGinley