He is the golfer who won over 15 points at the Ryder Cup but never made the top 10 in a major championship

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Of the 24 players set to tee it up in the Ryder Cup this week, just one has not yet managed to finish inside the top 10 in any of the major championships.

Of course, the two Ryder Cup teams are littered with major champions. Team USA have the edge with six major winners to Europe’s five.

Meanwhile, it is the only rookie on Luke Donald‘s team, Rasmus Hojgaard, who is yet to register a top 10 in any of the four majors. Obviously, you would expect that to change in the near future with the Dane boasting an enormous amount of talent. Few will forget how Scottie Scheffler’s performance at Whistling Straits in 2021 helped launch his career to another level.

The large majority of players who have become Ryder Cup stalwarts have either won majors or come incredibly close on a number of occasions.

But there is one iconic figure in Ryder Cup history who never managed to finish inside the top 10 in the majors. In fact, he never even made the cut in a major held in the United States.

The Ryder Cup legend who won more than 15 points but never finished in the top 10 in the majors

Justin Rose is one of four Europeans to win 15.5 points in the Ryder Cup across his career. He will surely add to that tally in the coming days.

He is currently tied with Peter Oosterhuis and Neil Coles, both of whom finished second at The Open Championship during their careers.

But for Bernard Gallacher, his impressive record in the Ryder Cup never translated into success in the majors.

Gallacher made his debut in the Ryder Cup in 1969 – the same year as Jack Nicklaus. And he made an immediate impact, beating Lee Trevino in the singles as the event finished in a tie.

Another notable singles win came in 1977 with the Scot beating Nicklaus 1 up.

He finished as Europe’s leading points scorer in both 1971 – where he won 3.5 points – and 1979. The latter was significant as it was the first Ryder Cup to include players from Continental Europe. Gallacher ended up winning four points at The Greenbrier that year.

Bernard Gallacher went on to become one of Europe’s most iconic captains

Of course, Gallacher’s association with the Ryder Cup did not end after his final appearance as a player in 1983.

He was named as the captain for 1991, succeeding Tony Jacklin. Unfortunately, his first two Ryder Cups as skipper ended in defeat, with Team USA winning the War on the Shore at Kiawah Island before retaining the trophy at The Belfry.

That remains the last time the Americans have won an away Ryder Cup.

Gallacher would have his redemption at Oak Hill in 1995. Europe fought from two points behind going into the singles to win 14.5-13.5. Many will remember the sight of Gallacher leaping across the final green when the win was confirmed as Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo could no longer contain their emotions.

Gallacher was the last European captain before Luke Donald to stay in the job for more than one Ryder Cup.

And while he struggled to make much of an impact in the majors – his best result at The Open Championship was tied for 18th, while he missed the cut on his only Masters appearance and never played in the US Open or the PGA Championship – there is no question that few have made a greater contribution to the Ryder Cup over the years than Bernard Gallacher.