Ryder Cup Star Has Tour Card Reinstated After Admin Error

Stephen Gallacher finished 173rd on the Race to Dubai last season and thought that he had lost his card. The four-time winner headed to Q School in Spain where he narrowly missed the cut and this season he has made a small number of starts on the DP World Tour, through tournament invites, as well as the Challenge Tour.

But now the Scot, who played on the 2014 Ryder Cup side, has got his tour card back as he should never have lost it due to his standing on the Career Money List. As things stand Gallacher is in 42nd spot on that list with career earnings of just over $12m in 600-plus starts.

He received an 'unreserved apology' from the tour and a statement, through his management company, Bounce, read: “I am really delighted and I am very pleased how the DP World Tour has handled the matter once they realised that the mistake had been made. The past six months have been hard, and sitting on the sidelines watching Tour events is no substitute from playing in them.

"I am as competitive now as I have always been, and from Qualifying School, to last minute DP World Tour invitations, through to Challenge Tour events, my ambition and desire to get back playing and winning has never wavered. I am still hugely motivated and I can now plan my schedule for the rest of this campaign to try to secure my card back based purely on my results on the course.”

Gallacher not only has his card back for this season, he will also receive an exemption for 2024 given that he's missed a collection of starts already this year.

His last win came at the 2019 Hero Indian Open and he is now looking forward to getting his career going again after this untimely blip.

"Golf has to be one of the most unique sports in how things go for you and against you and, throughout my career, like everybody else, you experience a vast range of highs and lows. It's been a volatile time in the world of golf with various people coming and going across all our Tours, so I know how challenging things have been to administer," the 48-year-old added.

“I can only thank DP World Tour for firstly holding their hands up and explaining the error but, more importantly, sorting things out so quickly to allow me to get cracking properly again.”