Bernard Gallacher
OBE
Personal information
Born (1949-02-09) 9 February 1949 (age 75)
Bathgate, Scotland
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Sporting nationality Scotland
ResidenceAscot, Berkshire, England
SpouseLesley
Children3, including Kirsty
Career
Turned professional1967
Former tour(s)European Tour
European Seniors Tour
Professional wins23
Number of wins by tour
European Tour10
European Senior Tour1
Other12
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentCUT: 1970
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipT18: 1973
Achievements and awards
Sir Henry Cotton
Rookie of the Year		1968
Harry Vardon Trophy1969

Bernard Gallacher, OBE (born 9 February 1949) is a Scottish professional golfer.

Early life and amateur career

Gallacher was born in Bathgate in West Lothian, Scotland. He took up golf at the age of eleven. In 1965 he won the Lothians Golf Association Boys Championship. He won the 1967 Scottish Amateur Open Stroke Play Championship and turned professional the same year.

Professional career

He won the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award in 1968. His first professional wins came in 1969; a pair of them in Zambia and another pair in Europe in the equivalent of European Tour events. (The European Tour wasn't established until 1972.) He finished 1969 as Order of merit winner earning the Harry Vardon Trophy.

He accumulated ten wins on the European Tour between 1974 and 1984 and finished in the top ten on the European Tour Order of Merit five times between 1972 and 1982, with a best placing of third in 1974.

In 1969, at the age of 20, Gallacher became the youngest man to represent Great Britain in the Ryder Cup up to that time. This record was subsequently beaten by Nick Faldo and others. He went on to play in the Ryder Cup eight times and was non-playing captain of the European Team in 1991, 1993 and 1995. All three of those matches were very close; Europe lost the first two but won the third.

After turning 50, Gallacher played on the European Seniors Tour. His first senior win came at The Mobile Cup in 2002.

Gallacher was the professional at the Wentworth Club near London for 25 years until the end of 1996. He wrote a column for Scottish golf magazine bunkered from 1998 until 2008.

Personal life

Gallacher's daughter Kirsty was a presenter on Sky Sports News for 20 years.[1] Another daughter, blogger and former restaurateur Laura Gallacher, is married to Russell Brand.[2][3]

In August 2014, Gallacher was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.[4]

Amateur wins

Source: [5]

Professional wins (23)

European Tour wins (10)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 23 Jun 1974 Carroll's Celebration International −17 (72-71-68-68=279) 3 strokes Australia Jack Newton
2 5 Oct 1974 Dunlop Masters −2 (71-70-69-72=282) Playoff South Africa Gary Player
3 4 Oct 1975 Dunlop Masters (2) +5 (74-70-71-74=289) 2 strokes South Africa Dale Hayes
4 16 Apr 1977 Spanish Open −11 (70-68-70-69=277) 2 strokes Spain Francisco Abreu
5 13 May 1979 French Open −8 (71-69-74-70=284) 1 stroke Scotland Willie Milne
6 21 Sep 1980 Haig Whisky TPC −8 (68-65-66-69=268) 3 strokes England Nick Faldo, West Germany Bernhard Langer
7 14 Jun 1981 Cold Shield Greater Manchester Open −16 (65-69-63-67=264) 5 strokes England Nick Faldo
8 16 May 1982 Martini International −7 (71-71-68-67=277) 3 strokes Spain José María Cañizares, England Nick Faldo
9 6 Jun 1982 Jersey Open −15 (69-66-68-70=273) Playoff Republic of Ireland Eamonn Darcy, Republic of Ireland Des Smyth
10 3 Jun 1984 Jersey Open (2) −14 (66-71-68-69=274) 2 strokes Scotland Sandy Lyle

European Tour playoff record (2–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1973 Portuguese Open Spain Jaime Benito Lost to par on first extra hole
2 1974 Dunlop Masters South Africa Gary Player Won with birdie on first extra hole
3 1978 European Open Championship United States Gil Morgan, United States Bobby Wadkins Wadkins won with birdie on first extra hole
4 1982 Jersey Open Republic of Ireland Eamonn Darcy, Republic of Ireland Des Smyth Won with par on fifth extra hole
Darcy eliminated by birdie on second hole

Other wins (12)

European Seniors Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 14 Jul 2002 Mobile Cup −12 (67-68-66=201) 4 strokes Jamaica Delroy Cambridge

Results in major championships

Tournament 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament CUT
The Open Championship CUT CUT T37 CUT T18 T24 T19 T60 CUT T22 CUT
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987
Masters Tournament
The Open Championship CUT CUT T25 T19 T31 T47 CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1969 Open Championship)
"T" = tied
Note: Gallacher never played in the U.S. Open or the PGA Championship.

Team appearances

See also

References

  1. ^ "Kirsty Gallacher quits Sky Sports after 20 years". Digital Spy. 25 May 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Who is Russell Brand's wife Laura Gallacher? Inside marriage with kids and baby on way". Mirror. September 2023. Archived from the original on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Russell Brand marries partner Laura Gallacher". Bbc.co.uk. 27 August 2017. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories". The Guardian. 7 August 2014.
  5. ^ Huggins, Percy, ed. (1971). The Golfer's Handbook. p. 377.
  6. ^ "The Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 25 September 2023.

External links

Sir Henry Cotton Rookies of the Year
BMW PGA Championship champions
Bernard Gallacher in the Ryder Cup
Categories