Gallacher eyes Ryder Cup spot

Home

bruced
August 13, 2014

Stephen Gallacher still has hopes of making the Ryder Cup team with a solid performance at the Wyndham Championship.

The Scot is less than 13 points behind Graeme McDowell, who currently occupies the final automatic qualifying place, and is also playing the final two qualifying events on the European Tour, the Czech Masters and Italian Open.

“We don’t get many chances to play in a team event, especially on home soil, and that’s why I’ll be giving it my all over the next few weeks,” he said.

Italy’s Francesco Molinari is another player lurking close to final automatic qualifying spot, though at 30 points adrift he would need a special performance in either Greensboro or at his home event at the end of August to earn a third consecutive cup appearance at Gleneagles.

The defending champion in Greensboro this week is Patrick Reed, the American who made waves following his WGC-Cadillac Championship victory in March by claiming he was one of the top five players in the world.

Reed has already secured his Ryder Cup debut, and is sticking to his guns when it comes to his own abilities – although he backed off somewhat by now referring to his ‘goal’ of becoming a top-five player.

“I believe that if I play well that I can reach my goal, which is to become a top five player in the world,” Reed said in his pre-tournament press conference. “I know it’s going to take time. It doesn’t happen overnight and it definitely doesn’t happen over a year or two. You need some time to get there.

“But that’s one of my goals and what I’m going to shoot for. That’s probably everyone’s goal out here is to become the best player in the world.

“The feeling coming back to a place where we won our first event and just the support we’ve had ever since we’ve been here, it’s amazing. It really jump started my career, that’s for sure.

“Playing really well here, and actually being able to cap it off and win, it led to me being able to play very well for almost a full year in a row and hopefully that will continue.”

Home News