How skipping school in Bathgate didn't hold back golfing Gallachers

According to one of the organisers, it had been a sell-out well in advance and guests were treated to some fantastic tales during a captivating chat with Ian Carter, the BBC’s golf correspondent, in his role on the day as Master of Ceremonies.

Beforehand, the duo sat down separately with this correspondent and one other Scottish golf writer for a pre-lunch blether and, having known both of them for a long time, it was a pleasure to hear them talk openly about a number of topics, including how it had all started for them at their beloved Bathgate Golf Club in West Lothian.

“Playing golf at Bathgate I wasn’t bothered about school,” smiled Bernard, now 76 but, 12 or so years after suffering a cardiac arrest at a golf dinner in Aberdeen and having his life saved by CPR and a defibrillator at the hotel, looking a picture of health. “My heart was set on golf. When your classroom is right across the road from the course and you’re gazing out on it, you just want to be playing.”

As Stephen duly discovered. “What was school?” he joked before admitting it had been pretty similar for him at a young age. “My uncle went to the catholic school and his school did look directly on to the golf course, whereas I went to the protestant school, but they were 800 yards apart in Bathgate.

“When I was at the golf course in the afternoons, the truant officer at the time was my gran’s cousin, so it would have been Bernard’s uncle. But, as long as they knew where was, they didn’t seem to mind. And my PE teacher was the captain of the club. By hook or by crook, they kind of knew where I was going, eh? I’d made my choice and my intentions clear - I was never not going to become a golfer.

“Believe it or not, I didn’t finish school early. I actually stayed on. I used to copy off the girls in front - I think one of them is now my pal’s wife. I also knew the adjudicator at the time as his son played on the golf team with me. I was in foundation Maths but higher Physics and the teacher would ask me ‘how are you in my class, mate?’ I just said to him ‘I’ve taken you every afternoon and I’ve taken PE every afternoon and I won’t be coming’ and he went ‘no bother’.

“I always remember Steven Rosie (now the PGA Professional at Glenbervie Golf Club), who is at the lunch today, getting expelled for playing golf. Bathgate had a healthy junior section and you had to put the practice in (smiling).”

Though certainly not advocating that anyone should be doing it nowadays, skipping school didn’t do either of the Gallachers any harm. Bernard won ten times on the European Tour, played on eight Ryder Cup teams and was captain three times, including a win at Oak Hill in 1995. After following in his footsteps by turning professional, Stephen claimed four DP World Tour triumphs, played on a winning Ryder Cup team at Gleneagles in 2014 and captain Europe in the Junior Ryder Cup on two occasions, including a thumping win in Rome in 2013 that stopped a rot after six successive defeats.

“It is nice,” admitted Stephen of sharing the spotlight at the Glasgow event with his uncle, who was the long-standing club professional at Wentworth before retiring in 1996. He still lives in the area and remains a popular figure, as witnessed by this correspondent on more than one occasion during chats in the tennis and health club at the exclusive Surrey venue in BMW PGA Championship week. “It’s just a pity my dad wasn’t here as it’s one of those events he’d have liked. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my uncle playing golf. That’s the big thing I try to do with the foundation because I had golf in my family the whole way whereas some people don’t have that.

“When I was ten minutes old, I was a member of Bathgate Golf Club. It was a prize-giving night and when my dad found out I was born, he put my application in there and then. That was my introduction to golf and, even when I was a nipper, Bernard was playing in the Ryder Cup before then going on to be a Ryder Cup captain.

“I obviously knew all about Eric Brown (who started Bathgate’s Ryder Cup legacy by both playing and being a captain in the biennial event) but never met him. It is nice for me and my uncle as he has helped me along the way. He gave me a goal to try and get into the Ryder Cup and helped me turn professional. It’s sort of been a team effort, I suppose.”

As a young truant back in the day, did Stephen ever envisage he’d still be going strong at 51, having just finished an encouraging first season in the senior ranks? “No, I didn’t,” he admitted with a smile. “I was just thinking this the other day.

“When I played in the Senior US Open this year, they put a Walker Cup badge on your locker and I was talking about it with Peter Baker, someone I now play with quite a bit, as there’s not been many people - I think it’s only about 30 - who have played in both the Walker Cup and the Ryder Cup and I was lucky to play on two winning teams.

“And there’s only been 170 guys who’ve played for Europe in the Ryder Cup. When you think about that when you were dogging school, it’s pretty incredible.”