Italian Open

Gallacher falls one shot short in Ryder Cup bid

ESPN staff

August 31, 2014

Stephen Gallacher will have to rely on a captain's pick from Paul McGinley © Getty Images

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Stephen Gallacher fell short of sneaking an automatic place at next month's Ryder Cup as a superb final round of 65 at the Italian Open proved to be just one shot too many.

Gallacher needed to finish in at least a tie for second in Turin and looked well on his way with six birdies in his front nine to go out in 30.

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Only one more gain was to follow at the par-5 12th and, with David Howell carding a stunning 63 to finish second behind winner Hennie Otto, Gallacher needed birdie down the last but failed to clear the greenside bunker and was forced to settle for par.

The third place finish means Gallacher falls just short of displacing Graeme McDowell in the automatic spots for the European team at the Ryder Cup.

McDowell qualifies for Gleneagles alongside eight others who were already assured a place - Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Victor Dubuisson, Jamie Donaldson, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer and Thomas Bjorn.

Gallacher, along with the likes of Luke Donald, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, will now rely on getting one of Paul McGinley's three captain's picks, which are announced on Tuesday.

"It was a tall order to finish first or second - I've only had a couple of them in a year," Gallacher told Sky Sports. "But I'm proud of myself and the way I played.

"It comes down to someone else's opinion. I wanted to qualify myself to take that away.

"There are four or five guys that are worthy of it, it just depends what Paul sees."

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Fantastic performance from Stevie G these last 2 weeks. He would be a huge asset to the team and has made a massive case for a pick. #class
— Graeme McDowell (@Graeme_McDowell) August 31, 2014