Seeing himself on a huge billboard finally brought home to Stephen Gallacher what being in the European team for the Ryder Cup meant, but his reaction was typically laid-back.
“Myself and (wife) Helen have a laugh every time we see one,” he admitted as he got “back to the day job” at the ISPS Handa Wales Open this week.
“It’s surreal seeing yourself up there or on the trolleys at the airport, but it’s something I’ll have to get used to and embrace.”
Skipper Paul McGinley was delighted that Gallacher had opted to come down to Wales this week as “everything is a bit manic right now back in Scotland”, with both the Ryder Cup and the referendum.
“It’s bigger than I expected,” admitted the Scot when asked about the reaction at home. “I don’t know if it’s down to me being the only Scot in the team or that it’s more than 40 years since a Ryder Cup was played at home.
“It’s a bigger animal now, it’s huge. Getting here was nice, and I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with guys coming up to congratulate me on the range. It is about preparing for next week but you also want to try and do well this week, as there are a lot of order of merit points up for grabs.”
Off course, Gallacher and his caddie Damien Moore were having dinner with McGinley last night in which the skipper was giving him and the three other players an information pack he believes covers every eventuality of when and where they’ll need to be when they converge on Gleneagles on Monday.
There’s a further dinner date with close friend Paul Lawrie tonight for the purposes of tapping his brains on Ryder Cup issues.
“We also have a mega-experienced backroom staff while I’ve spoken to my uncle (Bernard) a couple of times as well and they are all saying pretty much the same thing,” continued Gallacher.
“They’ve said that I should go and enjoy it. As for the first tee in a Ryder Cup, you can’t replicate that anywhere.
“Can it be any more nervous than holing a putt for a birdie or eagle to win a tournament or get into a play-off? Nervousness or excitement is only really how much pressure you put on yourself. I don’t get up and down much but I feel both nervous and excited, excited more than anything, when I play normal events.”
Living so close less than half an hour’s drive from the PGA Centenary Course, Gallacher has been up to taste the scene.
“It’s pretty much the same course,” he said. “The infrastructure, the stands, the hospitality and the big merchandising tent where the practice ground usually is change the look, but it’s the same as it always is.
“I spoke to the greens staff when I was walking around and they were saying the fairways are the usual width. There are a couple of areas that have grown in over bunkers but it’s more cosmetic stuff around the greens such as run-offs.
“With the sub-air system, the greens can be as firm or soft as they like, and it was bizarre last week to find some of the fairways running. At this time of the year there’s normally no run up there.”
If Gallacher needed grounding which is unlikely after getting in the team, the untimely death of his grandmother Millie at the end of that week gave him a clear sense of what really matters.
““I went from the highest of the highs to the lowest of the lows in just a day,” he recalled. “I’d just got into the team when I heard my gran was going in for a routine operation and was getting kept in but ultimately passed away on the Sunday.
“It was a tough time, no doubt, but that’s life and it puts things into perspective. Family are more important than anything and things like that happening certainly keep you grounded.
“She knew I was in the team and was proud of me. Now I’ll do her proud.”