Gallacher relieved to break duck

Dunhill Links champion Stephen Gallacher admitted a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders after winning his maiden European Tour event at St Andrews yesterday.

The 29-year-old from Bathgate had been unsuccessful in his previous 187 tournaments and his previous best was second in the 2001 Great North Open and Seville Open this year.

But the nephew of former Ryder Cup skipper Bernard picked the best place to end that unwanted record by beating Graeme McDowell in a play-off in his own country.

The Celtic supporter, who was 157th in the world rankings, needed the help of a coach and psychologist to convince him that he could win and he did, picking up the £450,000 (€651,800) first prize which saw him jump to 12th in the Volvo Order of Merit.

An emotional Gallacher said: “It is definitely one that I wanted to win outside the big tournaments so I am delighted.

“I have been knocking on the door for some time. Everybody kept telling me that that I was good enough but doing it and saying it are two different things.”