Underachievers look for first win

Ever since beating Tiger Woods back in 1995 – one at the Walker Cup, the other at the Open – Stephen Gallacher and Steve Webster have lived with the fact that much is expected of them in their European tour careers.

To date the 29-year-olds have played a combined 407 events and not once tasted victory. But that could change – for only one of them, obviously – at the Nissan Irish Open this weekend.

Paired together for the opening two rounds at County Louth, Gallacher reached halfway in the £1.2m (€1.8m) tournament on eight under par and Webster on seven under.

“You try not to think about it,” said Gallacher when the inevitable question arose about his long wait for a title.

“You try to get on with it and hopefully learn from all the experiences. I feel I have the game now, which is half the battle.

“I’ve a bit more self-belief and I’ve become a bit more consistent not just in the way I play, but the way I think.”

Still better known as the nephew of former Ryder Cup captain and cousin of television presenter Kirsty, Gallacher is already enjoying the best season of his career.

The former Scottish amateur champion is 28th on the Order of Merit with nearly £280,000 and had his second runners-up finish at the Seville Open in April. The other came at the Great North Open at Slaley Hall near Newcastle three years ago.

Webster, from Warwickshire, was leading amateur in the Open at St Andrews nine years ago, his 24th place being 42 better than Woods. But while the American captured two of his first seven events as a professional Webster is in his 228th start.

Few would have believed he would still have been waiting when he won the tour qualifying school at his first visit, but he had go back the following year and since then has had no fewer than five second places.

He lost a play-off to Retief Goosen in the 2001 Madrid Open and just missed out again at the South African Open in January when defending champion Trevor Immelman came through with a closing 67 to beat him by three.

Both Gallacher and Webster scored two under par 70s in the more testing wind, with Webster saying: “We pulled each other along. Stephen knows it the same as I do that we should have won by now, but all you can do is keep trying to put yourself in position.”

Pre-tournament favourites Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington were among those trying to catch them.

Clarke was among the later starters and stood three under after nine holes, while Harrington’s second successive 70 left him four behind Gallacher and five behind on-course leader Peter Lonard, who still had the back nine to play.

Harrington was bothered by a neck and shoulder injury in the build-up to last week’s Open and, having missed the cut there, it struck again in his breakfast-time warm-up.

“I spent the last 20 minutes before teeing off trying to sort it out and couldn’t really swing,” said Dubliner.

“Over-practising is the problem, but I’m obsessive – I have to go and work on my game. I keep pushing it to the limit, let’s say. I’m off to get more treatment and you’ll probably see me on the range later.”

Alongside Gallacher in second place was South African James Kingston, who had four holes to go, while Webster was joined in the clubhouse on seven under by Australian Brett Rumford and France’s Raphael Jacquelin, while 46-year-old Sandy Lyle was on the same mark after starting his second round with two birdies and then parring the next four.

England’s David Lynn, fourth last year at Portmarnock, withdrew at four over after 27 holes because of a problem with his contact lens, while David Howell and Ian Poulter, eighth and 10th in the Ryder Cup points standings, were struggling to survive the cut.

Howell was one over with nine to come and Poulter, who added the tournament to his schedule in the hope of winning and making the last month of the qualifying race less stressful, four over after bogey sixes at the third and sixth and then a double bogey on the 163-yard seventh.

Playing partner Luke Donald was going better at two under, but last year’s Open champion Ben Curtis suffered his fourth successive missed cut on European soil, slumping to seven over with rounds of 77 and 74.

Compatriot Ricky Barnes, American amateur champion two years ago and 21st in the 2003 Masters, fared even worse, an 80 dropping him to 13 over and last place.

He will certainly remember Ireland – he was disqualified from the European Open three weeks ago for a scorecard mistake.