McDowell rides crest of a wave at Loch Lomond

THE first Ulsterman to win the £3 million Barclays Scottish Open since David Feherty held sway at Haggs Castle in 1986, Graeme McDowell claimed the winner's cheque for £500,000 at Loch Lomond yesterday thanks to an impressive closing round of 68 for 271, 13 under par, which all but clinched his place in Europe's Ryder Cup team this autumn.

Although he'd already won three events on the European Tour, including the Ballantines Championship in Korea earlier this season, the 28-year-old from Portrush celebrated the biggest success of his career to date by plotting to maintain a fine run of form at the Open championship, which starts at Royal Birkdale on Thursday.

If anyone has momentum going into the 137th staging of the oldest major, it's surely McDowell. "It's the biggest tournament on the planet, so, hopefully, I can get myself up for it. Hopefully, I've left something in the tank," he said.

Third in the European Open last week, McDowell was 11th in the Open at St Andrews in 2005 and led the field after 18 holes at Hoylake two years ago. An exponent of the links game who learned his craft on one of Ireland's most testing seaside courses, McDowell will tee up in Southport as one of Europe's form horses.

"I trust my swing more than I did when I led the Open in 2006," he said. "If I get into the same situation again, I'd hope to do something different."

Finishing two strokes clear of South Africa's James Kingston and three in front of Australia's Richard Green and Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez (another sure starter in Nick Faldo's plans for Valhalla), McDowell was in understandably ebullient mood to come through with his father Kenny and mother Marian among the onlookers.

It was his father who introduced him to the game 20 years ago. They speak on the phone every day and McDowell described his Dad as "my rock". The golfer hails from a close family – he still lives in Northern Ireland – and says the down-to-earth environment of home offers a balance to the fantasy world of professional golf.

On a cheerful summer's afternoon in Argyll and Bute, the Scottish Open champion picked off birdies at the fifth and eighth holes during an outward half free of blemish.

If there was no shame in a dropped shot at the tenth, one of Loch Lomond's most exacting holes, the Irish golfer seized command of the tournament with three consecutive birdies between the 11th and 14th.

And if there was a minor alarm on the 17th when he made bogey from the bunker, McDowell soothed any nerves on the last when he found the fairway off the tee before threatening the pin with a glorious approach which drew roars of approval from the packed gallery surrounding the 18th green.

By then, McDowell knew he'd taken "a massive step" towards making his debut in the Ryder Cup. Last week at the London Club he'd declined an invitation to be fitted for Europe's team clothing. "But if they ask me again," he smiled, "I'll accept."

While a double bogey 6 at the par-4 12th undid Simon Khan's hopes of winning the second title of his career – he was snared in a loop of underhit chips from the run-off area below the green which scuppered Angel Cabrera on Saturday – the Englishman made a brave up and down on the last for 72 and 275 and fifth place on his own. It meant Khan narrowly pipped Stephen Gallacher for the sole remaining spot in the Open available to those golfers not already exempt.

Apart from Gallacher's belated return to form and Paul Lawrie's largely diligent showing – only a brace of 6s at the third and 14th holes prevented him finishing closer to the winner – there were thin pickings for the Scots over the weekend. While he was happy to offer Gallacher a deserved pat on the back, Alastair Forsyth's own 73 for 285 was hardly a thing of beauty. The Paisley golfer is going through a phase when he's not swinging the club well – "right, left, fat, thin" – and feels increasingly frustrated by the dip in his fortunes.

If he keeps his spot in the world's top 100, then his next tournament will be the US PGA at Oakland Hills in Michigan. "It's frightening to think I might be going there playing like this," he rued.

David Drysdale, 75 for 288, was no better pleased than Forsyth with his performance. Although it was encouraging for the Dunbar golfer to make the cut by minimising mistakes – he ran up two bogeys in two days – the error count rose over the weekend. His card was smudged with the blue numbers which denote scores over par on Saturday and yesterday's 75 included four bogeys.

Currently without a card, Andrew Oldcorn, 73 for 285, made the cut as an invitee for the second week running. But there was also inconsistency in the play of the former PGA champion who finished off with five birdies only to mar his enterprising play with five bogeys as well as a double at the tenth. Among the stellar names who didn't threaten to take home the winner's cheque, Ernie Els, twice a champion at Loch Lomond, gave his confidence a boost for Birkdale by finishing off with three birdies in the last four holes. His 69 for 277 was more uplifting than Phil Mickelson's 73 for 282.

Apart from a hole-in-one on Friday, there was little noteworthy in the play of the world No 2, at least compared to his exhilarating display 12 months earlier when he was beaten in a play-off by France's Gregory Havret. That said, the presence of the three time major winner is always welcome in this part of the world.

Assuming the European Tour doesn't alter its eligibility rule in the autumn and increase the number of events required to be a member – the minimum is currently set at 11 – it's possible that Mickelson will return to Loch Lomond next summer looking for remuneration on the Race to Dubai.

At one stage, Adam Scott, the world No 3, flirted with the lead in mid-afternoon after making three birdies in eight holes. However, the Australian's dalliance with calamity – he started with a triple bogey 7 on Thursday – again reared its ugly head as he fell back with double bogeys at the ninth, tenth and 17th holes.

Lee Westwood, 73 for 279, and Ian Poulter, 74 for 280, also went out with a whimper rather than a bang. Like the rest of the golfers making their way south on the M6 last night, their thoughts had already turned to Royal Birkdale.

While Loch Lomond is hardly renowned as ideal preparation for playing links golf, McDowell was thrilled to get a chance on the par 5 13th to execute a bump and run shot from around the 50 yard mark which finished a couple of feet from the flag. "That," he said, "gave me heart for the Open."

Gallacher proves to be match for the best as he brings Loch Lomond test to an end in style

LONG renowned as one of Scotland's best ball strikers, Stephen Gallacher delivered a master class from tee to green during the closing round of the Barclays Scottish Open yesterday when he signed for 64 and 276,eight under par, to post the joint low score of the championship with Spain's Alvaro Quiros. His friend and playing partner, Alastair Forsyth, later described Gallacher's golf as "absolutely awesome".

When Gallacher plays to this standard – as he proved when he won the Dunhill Links in 2004 – the Bathgate player is a match for anyone. His coach, Bob Torrance, reckons the Scot has a golf swing as pure as anyone in world golf. What's held Gallacher back, of course, from claiming a berth among the world's top 50 and competing regularly in the majors was a lack of confidence on the greens.

If Stephen had inherited more of the short game genes which made his Uncle Bernard a distinguished Ryder Cup player and Order of Merit winner, then there's no saying what the former Walker Cup player would have achieved already. Yesterday, when his putter behaved itself, Gallacher was able to take advantage of hitting 13 out of 14 fairways and locating 16 out of 18 greens by using his blade just 28 times.

Normally a taciturn man, Forsyth's caddie, Dave Renwick, who has worked for gifted major winners over the years such as Vijay Singh, Jose Maria Olazabal and Steve Elkington was also moved to observe: "Stevie played great, just fantastic."

The golfer himself, who is not renowned for blowing his own trumpet, excitedly described his display as "brilliant". Although he'd putted pretty well, the Scot couldn't recall holing anything out of the ordinary. The score, in short, was a reward for hitting it close to the flags and making the six and eight footers for seven birdies on a card without a blemish.

"I gave myself millions of chances," beamed the 33-year-old, whose pleasure at finishing sixth and taking home a cheque for £90,000 wasn't undermined by disappointment at narrowly missing out on the one place in the Open on offer to the leading non-exempt golfer.

Although his absence at Birkdale is a wasted opportunity, Gallacher won't forget the day he returned one of the rounds of his life at Loch Lomond. As the club's touring professional, the Scot can remember first playing here as an amateur in 1994. He'd totted up between 60 and 70 rounds since then but until yesterday, in both social and competitive golf, Gallacher had never gone as low as 64.

He recalled one good break on the par 5 sixth when a loose drive hit a tree and pleasingly rebounded back into the play. By way of confirming his soaring level of confidence, Gallacher stiffed his approach shot and tapped in for a remarkable birdie.

By the time he split the fairway on the dogleg seventh and caressed a 9 iron to eight feet, the Scot had set up an outward half of 33. By the time he'd strung together three birdies in a row between the 12th and 14th before chipping in from a tricky lie on the home hole, Gallacher came home in just 31 blows.

"I'd decided on Friday to be more aggressive and just went for the shots," he said."It was great to do well here and all I want to do now is keep it going. I'll have a week off next week and then come back for the Russian Open."

On this evidence, the only pity for his compatriots, is that Gallacher won't have an opportunity to impress in Southport.