Press and Journal columnist Stephen Gallacher did not allow his near miss of an Open spot cloud his satisfaction finishing tied in ninth at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.
Gallacher’s final four-under-par round of 66 at Gullane saw him finish as the leading Scot on 13-under-par for the tournament, however it was not enough to secure one of three places for Carnoustie this week.
The 43-year-old was pleased with his effort however, and he said: “The form wasn’t the greatest coming in, but I’ve worked really hard on my game this week.
“The Open is an unknown, you can’t really do anything about it. You can finish fourth and not get in, so you are just trying to finish as high up the board as you can to give yourself a chance.
“But there will be an Open again next year.”
Kirkcaldy’s Connor Syme was the next best-placed Scot of the five who made the cut, finishing on eight-under-par for the tournament.
Inverness’ Russell Knox had been just a shot off the lead ahead of his final round but a double bogey at the first led to a five-over-par 75, which saw the Irish Open winner finish six-under-par for the tournament in 49th place.
He said: “I wouldn’t have expected I would have had a chance to win this week, but I did. A good tee shot at number one and everything might have been different.”
Peterhead-born Jamie McLeary and Grantown’s Duncan Stewart both finished four-under-par for the tournament, with Stewart bemoaning a frustrating third round which saw him bogey four holes on the back nine.
He said: “I maybe put too much pressure on myself for the back nine on Saturday, thinking that if I could shoot three or four under I would be in contention not just for an Open spot, but for trying to get a card that way and even be in contention to win the tournament.
“It would be fair to say I bottled it a little bit. I had a chance, it just didn’t go my way.”
