Gallacher upbeat after heart scare

Bernard Gallacher revealed he felt no pain before he collapsed
16 September 2013

Former Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher expects to make a full recovery after suffering from serious heart problems last month.

Gallacher was rushed to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in a critical condition after collapsing just over two weeks ago as he was about to give an after-dinner speech. The Daily Mail reported on Monday that medics had to restart his heart three times following a cardiac arrest.

While it is still unclear what caused Gallacher's heart to stop, the Scot feels he is well on his way to a full recovery.

"Golf is off the menu for a while but, considering I was dead a few weeks ago, it's amazing to know I'll get back to a normal life soon. It's not too big a hardship. Winter is coming," he said in the Daily Mail.

He added: "I had no pain, no warning of what was coming. People said I suddenly collapsed. They said it looked like I'd been floored by a boxer.

"Three nurses gave me immediate help. The Marcliffe Hotel had a defibrillator, which was incredibly lucky. If it hadn't been I wouldn't be here. These people saved my life."

The Daily Mail also reported that the 64-year-old has now had a defibrillator fitted which will restart his heart automatically should the problem recur.

Gallacher made the first of his eight Ryder Cup appearances as a player in 1969, the same year he became the youngest winner of the PGA Championship at 20 years and 97 days - a record which stood until earlier this year when Italian Matteo Manassero triumphed at Wentworth aged 20 years and 37 days.

He went on to win 10 European Tour titles but is perhaps best known for his role as Ryder Cup captain in 1991, 1993 and 1995.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in