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DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP

September 28, 2005

Stephen Gallacher

ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND

SCOTT CROCKETT: Stephen, many thanks for coming in. 12 months ago we sat here after your victory, it was a great night for you, and perhaps you can reflect on that win and a year as the defending champion.

STEPHEN GALLACHER: Well, obviously it was a dream come true to win it back then. It feels a bit weird being here as defending champion obviously because I've never done it before but I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait to play with the same guy again which is good and the same foursome nearly which is good as well. It was very good.

As the year went on, I have not had that great of a year, sort of a bad back and hope to put it behind me and grow stronger from it basically.

SCOTT CROCKETT: A lot of champions say they get an extra boost which they come back to play on a course you've done well; does that apply to you this week?

STEPHEN GALLACHER: Yeah, you've got good memories. It is a bit weird, you sort of remember, you can remember nearly every hole you played and every shot you played and remember where the pins were and stuff like that. It's good. It gives you a bit more confidence I think.

SCOTT CROCKETT: And your own game, how is it shaping up?

STEPHEN GALLACHER: It's pretty good just now. It's the best my back has been for about two or three months, so I can start to practice a bit harder. I have basically not been practicing, I've just been playing. I'm back into it. I've had ten days off now and I didn't play at all. I feel a bit more refreshed to be honest and looking forward to it.

Q. How much of not moving on to a higher level is due to your back

STEPHEN GALLACHER: Well, I tried to change my putting first of all and that didn't help. I tried to go back to the short putter. I was playing really well the first half of the year, just not holing anything. My stats were terrible.

And I've probably been playing 50 percent to be honest with my back if you round it all up, when you think about how I should be practicing and I have not been preparing properly. If you can't prepare properly you can't expect too much, you know.

Q. Do you feel fate has kicked you in the teeth a little bit?

STEPHEN GALLACHER: I would like to have gone onwards and upwards, but it ended there. I played the three majors and I've got the World Cup to come and I could win this year and everyone could be saying, what a great year you've had. Golf is funny that way.

When I'm back at 100%, I'll be back in contention to win. I've had one Top 3 and only reason I finished well was I traveled Wednesday night and the first day was cancelled and so I got rest and it was a three day event which is perfect for me, the short time. So yeah, it's basically that way.

I'm probably about 80 per cent fit now, it's getting better.

Q. What is your new fitness regime?

STEPHEN GALLACHER: I was seeing a chiropractor. I'm going to see a guy, he says the big muscles are not working any more and I need to try and retrain them in my trunk area, which ties into the stuff I've been trying to do. I've been trying to turn a bit more through the ball, and I can't because physically my body won't let me do it. The more I'm able to get it moving, the more I'll be able to get back playing.

There's going to be a new training and stretching regime over the winter. I've started it now, and so I'm looking for next year just now already. Obviously I want to have a strong finish, get to Valderrama and stuff like that. But at the end I want to be playing. I want to be playing in my 40s and 50s and don't want to be struggling at 30 because of back pain.

Q. Is playing in the Ryder cup on your radar?

STEPHEN GALLACHER: Obviously Ryder Cup I would love to play with it. It's in my family, my uncle being captain, and probably my biggest goal to play in a Ryder Cup. But first you've got to be in the Top 50 to have a good chance. If you get in without being in the Top 50, you've got to won the dunhill or whatever, you've won a big event. This is as good a chance, this or the Volvo Masters; if you do well in these two, you have as good a chance as any to get some big points because it's hard for the guys playing in the majors and the World events. But to try and compete against them that was my goal at the start of the year to try to get in the Top 50 in the world so that you can play in these events.

Q. Is it hard to focus on your own game here, playing with the amateurs?

STEPHEN GALLACHER: You only concentrate for the 20 seconds before your shot. It's quite a laugh, you see some good shots and you see some bad shots. To me, I don't mind playing them. I don't mind, when I'm back home I play a lot with my friends. It's a bit more relaxed and you have to be because you're there for 5 1/2, six hours so you have to do something to lighten it up. I have a very good time. It was almost even when I was in contention last year and you're playing, me a pro and two amateurs, they don't really get in your way or anything like that. You play with them for three days so you almost get used to it, like waiting for them and stuff like that. It's no problem.

Q. You talked about your back pain, is it permanently better now?

STEPHEN GALLACHER: Well, I'm probably going to have to have it's a long process, but I think at the end of the day, once it starts to get a bit more movement in it, it should be fine. The idea is to try to get it moving first and, if you get the mobility back, get the muscles working and then strengthen it. What I did wrong last year was I went to the gym, worked really hard on my fitness and gym work last year which, was detriment on me because I was doing it a lot and I wasn't doing the right stuff. I was trying to lift weights and the muscles were not strong enough, to hold my body in it. Now it's almost starting from the very bottom getting the muscles working again, get a bit of movement and then strengthen it.

Q. Must be difficult to work on your swing when you are trying to protect your back?

STEPHEN GALLACHER: Well, the thing I've been seeing Adam, and I'm happy with Adam, but it gets to a stage where if you're trying to do something and you can't physically, it's just pure your physique is not doing what you want in your swing. I'm not swinging the way I want to swing. I'm almost trying to compensate now, which is no use when you're competing in majors and playing top courses like Pinehurst and Firestone and these places. You have to be on top of your game to play these courses.

What was disappointing more than anything, I know myself the way I've scored and the way I've reacted, it's not me, anyway. I know once I get set, I'll be back to contending, because I think I've had five or six Top 10s and a win last year, and the year before was five Top 10s or something like that. It was a slow process before I won and I know I'll get back to that anyways, just have to get my body back to functioning properly.

Q. How good do you think you can be if you are 100% fit?

STEPHEN GALLACHER: Well, as long as a piece of string; I know what I think I'm capable of. I'm capable of winning, obviously, but I want to be more consistent and I think I've definitely got the game.

To be honest, I know you guys think I've had a bad year or whatever, but I'm quite happy with how I've actually done with how much I've not been able to practice. I've not been able to prepare properly, so I'm quite happy with the way that it's went. I've done okay even with a bad back, so I can't wait to get back to finish.

Q. Is it now a case then of taking a break to help?

STEPHEN GALLACHER: It's not so much it's going to get any worse. The guy said if I kept on going a bit eventually it's so stiff the bottom of my back, there's no movement. The last four things just don't more. But once I get a bit of movement in that, I'm doing 20 minutes in the room twice a day. But it's getting better, I've had a lot of chiropractic work and my friend has basically been keeping me playing, keeping me mobile enough to keep playing. It's like anything else if you're a Formula I driver and you only have four cylinders instead of six you have no chance of doing well, unless he's lucky and same as me.

Next year I'll be back to myself, guaranteed. I'm going to make sure, I'm going to work harder and I believe in the stuff I'm doing as well.

Q. We have had two Scottish winners here and the weather forecast this year is not good again. Should that help the Scottish challenge again?

STEPHEN GALLACHER: Should do. Paul, he won in Qatar and he's won here. I don't mind playing in the wind at all, I quite like it. All of the amateur stuff I played was always in high winds. It's good to be on a links course, as well. The Scottish guys love to play on the links. We don't play enough of it and a lot of people don't like it. They don't like playing on the links courses. They don't like to having playing bumps and runs and we all grew up in that. So it should play in our hands.

Q. Colin was saying last week he was urging other Scots like you to join him in the Top 100

STEPHEN GALLACHER: That's up to Colin. Good form, yeah. He's talked to the Scottish guys a couple of times, maybe he's getting lonely out there on his own. Maybe he needs a cuddle or something. I told you, that was my goal to get in the Top 50, it's not as if we don't know that. I think the fact that I've openly said that my goal for the year was to be in the Top 50, so it's not due to lack of effort.

Q. Does it annoy you, comments like that?

STEPHEN GALLACHER: Not really, I don't normally read the paper so, if it's good or bad sorry about that, guys. (Laughter). I just read the football.

Q. Are you happy about Hearts, do you think they can last?

STEPHEN GALLACHER: If I was a betting man, I wouldn't bet on Hearts but it's the best thing that's happened to Scottish football for years, I think anyway. Mike Aitken is happy anyway about it - Renton is not too happy right now mind you. (Laughter).

SCOTT CROCKETT: Stephen, thanks, as always, and good luck this week.

End of FastScripts.

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