Stephen Gallacher call up is just what the doctor ordered!

Ryder Cup call-up is great for Stephen Gallacher but it’s also the easy bit.

It was a proud moment for the Gallacher family to see Stephen named in this year’s Ryder Cup team.

But the first piece of advice for my nephew was to tell him he had only done the easy part!

That sounds funny when Stephen had achieved his lifelong dream, and especially after the pressure he faced in Italy last weekend.

But you don’t just want to play in the Ryder Cup. You want to play and contribute to a winning European team.

I always remember Christy O’Connor Sr telling me ahead of my debut back in 1969: ‘Get ready for the toughest, longest week of your life, son’.

It was only looking back afterwards that I realised he was dead right.

Stephen will be under the spotlight as soon as he arrives at Gleneagles on the Monday. The practice days are very important because the Captain is watching you closely.

And you have to impress to make sure you’re not one of the four players who has to sit out the first lot of matches.

The fanfare of dinners, photographs and the opening ceremony is all special, but you want to make sure your golf is in tip-top shape.

I’ve said all along that Stephen needed to play his way onto the team, and although he didn’t qualify automatically, he did everything but.

Only some wonderful golf from the winner Hennie Otto and David Howell prevented Stephen from getting the top-two finish he needed at the Italian Open.

I’m certain his 65 under pressure on Sunday was all the proof Paul McGinley needed that he couldn’t leave him out.

Stephen played well over the 12-month qualifying period and he deserves his place. The public support from the other pros tells me that too.

It’s no fluke that Stephen has made the Ryder Cup team. I remember inviting him down to play at Wentworth with me and Sam Torrance when he was a top amateur. I could see his obvious potential.

He was a big part of the winning Walker Cup team in 1995 that also included future Ryder Cuppers in Padraig Harrington and David Howell.

Stephen played a lot of matchplay golf in his youth and that should stand him in good stead in a couple of weeks. And I’m certain none of the other 23 players will have as good a knowledge of Gleneagles.

This is obviously the high point of Stephen’s career, but arguably the most important moment was a visit to a doctor in 2009.

He was struggling badly with a mystery illness, which was making him very tired and he was unable to practice. As a result, his golf really suffered.

He was very down and he just wanted to know what the problem was. Everyone was worried for his health and not just his golf.

Stephen was diagnosed with a viral infection called sarcoidosis. It was a relief to finally know what it was. Thankfully, he was then put on the right treatment and he’s since made a full recovery.

He knows just how important that visit was. He plans on sending the doctor who treated him a couple of tickets for Gleneagles as a way of saying thanks.

Living down in England, I have only played a small part in Stephen’s career. It’s consisted of phone calls and chats whenever he’s needed it.

The real influences have been his father Jim, the late Bob Torrance, and the people at Bathgate Golf Club.

I can tell you that Bob would have been as proud to see Stephen make the team as he was when his son Sam did.

Playing at Bathgate, Stephen has been almost indoctrinated by the Ryder Cup as there are portraits of myself and the late Eric Brown as soon as you walk in the clubhouse.

I wanted to emulate Eric as a player and fortunately, when he was Captain, he picked me as a 20-year-old rookie in 1969.

That, coupled with my own history in the event, has spurred Stephen on to his special feat.

So, hopefully soon, there will be a third portrait in the Bathgate clubhouse!