Stephen Gallacher was a vital part of the Ryder Cup win at Gleneagles, and has “the game and got the heart” to get back in the European team, believes Paul McGinley.
The Irishman’s sole regret in leading Europe to a crushing win last year is that he didn’t make the best of late wildcard pick Gallacher, who lost both of the matches he played on home soil at Gleneagles.
“Stevie was a very important part of our team from a personality point of view and a popularity point of view,” said McGinley.
“I texted all the qualified players when I made the picks, saying ‘here’s your new team-mates’. I immediately got a text back from Rory McIlroy saying ‘delighted you picked Stevie’.
“He was a very popular pick, and really I didn’t pick him, he picked himself with that performance in Turin.
“I always hark back to that picture of him and Rory at the party on the Sunday night at, what was it, 3am . . . There’s two guys so comfortable in each other’s company.
“People said he was overawed and didn’t play well. I didn’t see that at all.
“If I was doing it again I certainly wouldn’t have put Stevie and Ian Poulter together on the first morning; it was not fair on either of them.
“When Stevie played on the Sunday, of the 24 players on the course that day he was in the top five under-par. Unfortunately he came up against a highly motivated as we soon found out Phil Mickelson, who played some of the best golf of the day.”
McGinley is not surprised Gallacher and others have had a reaction after Gleneagles.
“The same thing happened to me after I made the winning putt in 2002, and again after 2006 playing on home soil at the K Club,” he said.
“It’s understandable.
“It’s important now that Stevie not be known as the guy who played one Ryder Cup. That’s a huge motivation, and it was for me in 2004.
“I made a real dash for the line that year and that’s Stevie’s challenge now. He’s got the game, he’s got the heart, he’s been there before.
“He has to galvanise himself and go forward again.”
McGinley is also impressed by two other Scots he feels can push themselves into contention for a place in Darren Clarke’s team at Hazeltine.
“There’s Russell Knox, and the unfortunate thing from his point of view is he’s just after winning a huge amount of Ryder Cup points that don’t count,” he continued.
“He wasn’t a member of the Euro Tour when he won the HSBC Champions, but If he uses that as a platform to get more confidence on a world stage and progresses on the year yet still misses out, the fact that he’s missed three months of qualifying may help if he has a chance to be picked.
“It’s certainly what we did with Edoardo Molinari when he was a pick in 2010,” he said.
“He was on the Challenge Tour the year before and had missed three months of qualifying, yet still finished one outside, but Monty gave him a pick because he won the last counting event as well.”
Knox could be a “Luke Donald” type of player in Ryder Cups, with the ability to mould with any partner in foursomes and fourballs.
“He’s a welcome addition to the European Tour and Mr Consistency in terms of how he plays the game. That’s a very underrated value in Ryder Cups.
“Marc Warren as well made great progress this year. It petered out a bit at the end of the year but he had some big performances in there and hopefully he can use that as a big platform to launch himself forward this year.
“With the structures in place now in Scotland Stirling University producing two Walker Cup players and the work Dean Robertson is doing there you have good work going on with Scottish Golf. The future is bright, having come through a lull.
“Five or six years ago I was being asked the same thing about English players, and look at them now. I have no doubt Scotland will come again.”