Stephen Gallacher will use playing for Scotland in the World Cup as a springboard to his “ultimate” goal of the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.
Top-ranked Scot Martin Laird has picked the former Dunhill champion as his partner for Mission Hills in China in November, and while Gallacher is delighted to have the chance at team golf again, his real goal is to play for Europe, preferably at Gleneagles, where he is for this week’s Johnnie Walker Championship.
Gallacher said: “It’s a great honour any time you represent your country, and I’m really looking forward to teaming up with Martin we teamed up for practice at the PGA last year and again at the majors this year and have become good mates.
“Team golf is so different and for me the Ryder Cup would be the ultimate goal really, mainly because it’s steeped in the family, growing up watching my uncle Bernard playing or captaining, it’s in the Gallacher tradition.
“Also because of Bathgate Golf Club, Eric Brown was also captain, two Ryder Cup skippers from a wee mining village who were boy-to-men members, there can’t be many places in golf like that.
“If you’ve played Walker Cup you want to play Ryder Cup, and in Scotland as well. It’s not going to come back here for a while so 2014 is the chance. It would be tremendous to represent Europe in your own country.”
As for China, Gallacher has only one request from his playing partner.
He said: “Martin’s concentrating on the FedEx Cup just now but he said he’d ring about the uniforms, and I’m fine with anything but white trousers.
“We want to carry on the tradition of Monty and Marc (Warren) doing well, and we should complement each other, Martin hits a fade and I have a slight draw, we’re both good ball strikers, and I’ll leave him the putts.”
Gallacher has done well around the PGA Centenary Course in the past, including a 63, and likes the change to the seventh green this year.
He said: “Any time you play in Scotland’s there’s an added value to the tournament for us Scots.
“You want to win on home soil with a Scottish crowd and staying at home is a breath of fresh air too.”
While Gallacher is a veteran, it is Walker Cup star James Byrne’s tour debut and the Banchory amateur (23) introduced himself to tournament director Colin Montgomerie in bold fashion.
He almost hit the former Ryder Cup skipper with a drive at the 12th, but escaped censure and instead got a compliment.
Byrne said: “He was in front of me when I hit my drive and it must have landed right behind him and he turned round straight away and put his hands up in the air.
“I thought ‘oh dear’ and as soon as I hit it my caddie said ‘that”s the former Ryder Cup captain.’
“I thought he’d be a bit upset and I shouted over to him on the next hole and apologised but he said ‘no I was impressed’. I got him on a good day!”