Stephen Gallacher will be looking to turn a double celebration later this week in China into a third celebrating by ending the European Tour’s Play-Off Series with a career best finish in the Race to Dubai.
Gallacher is among just three Scots contesting this week’s BMW Masters on the Lake Malaren course in Shanghai.
The Scot, sporting a silver tinged ‘goatie’, arrived in the Chinese financial capital lying 11th on the money list and staring at his highest finish in 18 straight years competing on the Tour.
With the Bathgate pro celebrating his 15th wedding anniversary tomorrow (FRD) and then turning 40 a day later, Gallacher’s already four spots higher on the Race to Dubai than his 15th place finish in 2004.
And Gallacher is contesting all four Final Series events, with prize-money of a whopping $US 30.5m, to end 2014 well inside the top-10.
Stephen Gallacher tees off in the Pro-Am ahead of this week’s BMW Masters. (Photo – Eoin Clarke/www.golffile.ie)
“I won early in the year and it would be nice to end my best season ever with another victory,” he said.
“It’s been a big season already for me but I want to end in having played consistent golf over the four events.
“Also after the pressure of fighting hard to qualify for the Ryder Cup, I still feel pretty fresh and there’s plenty of gas still in the tank.
“These four weeks are massive events and they’re all being played on good golf courses with great fields, and I also want to get myself into contention.
“But overall I want to end my year well inside the top-10 on the Race to Dubai, and in what would be the best ever year I’ve had.
“Also Helen and I celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary later this week and then I’m turning 40 on Saturday so there’s a double added incentive to play well.”
But while Gallacher is looking to make his presence felt there’s no escaping the presence of Rory McIlroy in Shanghai despite the World No. 1 surprising BMW Masters organisers by withdrawing just over a week ago from the event.
Arriving at Shanghai’s Pudong Airport there is a number of large back lit billboards promoting the event and with McIlroy, and also a now absent Henrik Stenson, forefront among seven golfers pictured swinging a club.
Also there’s individual player banners adorning Shanghai highways featuring all leading players including McIlroy and Stenson, and with the Swede taking the week off at home with his wife after the birth of the couple’s third child.
In contrast to Stenson, the four-time Major winning McIlroy is taking a fortnight’s sabbatical to prepare himself for his early New Year Dublin High Court showdown with Horizon Sports management.
“We are sorry that Rory McIlroy will not tee off at the BMW Masters for the first time since the tournament has been held,” said Tournament Director Marco Kaussler.
“We obviously understand the disappointment of the many golf fans in China and Asiam but respect his decision.
“He has shown what a world class player he is with this two Major victories and winning two top events supported by BMW this year, the BMW PGA Championship.
“We are looking forward to seeing him at a BMW tournament in the future.
Helping fill McIlroy’s absent shoes in the $US 7m and first event of the Play-Off Series events was victorious European Ryder Cup captain, Paul McGinley.
Sponsors arranged for McGinley and Gleneagles team-mates in Ian Poulter and Justin Rose, along with China’s Ashun Wu to feature in a lop-sided race around the Lake Malaren course.
Except McGinley and Rose donned push-bike helmets and hopped on a bike in a mock race around the Lake MaLaren course against Poulter and China’s Ashun Wu aboard a flash-looking BMW i8 sports coupe.
The car was similar to one loaned McIlroy during the FedEx Cup Series BMW Championship in Denver.
However after the mandatory photo shoots and video footage aside the clubhouse the next scene had McGinley and Rose pedalling hard up the last 50-yards of the 18th and Poulter and Wu in their i8 driving up a cart path.
The race ends in a dead heat and all four players took to a greenside bunker and with Wu, who was the first Chinese-born to compete on the Japan Tour, holing his shot to win the encounter for he and Poulter.
McGinley arrived in Shanghai from last weekend’s pro-celebrity event on Hainan Island off the China coast where he finished third behind Rose in a two-day event reduced to just 13 holes due to rain.
“Third place from a tired, washed-up old golfer is not that bad,” he said joking.
