THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 3, 1994 TAG: 9407030169
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Long : 113 lines
If you plan on going to Kingsmill Golf Club this week to watch the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic, be on the lookout for ``Killer Lamb Chop.''
Sounds like the makings of a tabloid headline, doesn't it? ``Killer Lamb Chop turns on puppeteer Shari Lewis.''
But if there were an all-points bulletin out on ``Killer,'' it wouldn't describe a curl-lipped sheep wearing red gloves.
Instead, it would go like this: ``Six-foot, 180-pound white male in his mid-30s with bushy, sandy-colored hair. Last seen wearing golf clothing.''
Jim Gallagher Jr. still chuckles when the subject of his unique nickname arises.
Gallagher, who will begin defense of his Anheuser-Busch title Thursday at Kingsmill, earned the nickname at last year's Ryder Cup matches, where he beat Seve Ballesteros in a final-day head-to-head match to help the U.S. retain the cherished cup.
Golf World magazine, among others, didn't have the foresight to figure Gallagher could pull off such a victory.
The magazine rated each of the players heading into the matches according to a Guts Index: Five for King of the Forest, four for a Warrior, three for a Grunt, two for a Lamb and one for Chopped Liver.
The writers ranked Gallagher a 1 1/2, or the cross between a lamb and chopped liver.
``Nobody can judge a man's heart and soul like that,'' Gallagher, 33, said. ``It's very hard to find out why someone ticks. They had me wrong. I would have walked across that lake at the 18th hole if (U.S. team captain) Tom Watson had asked me to. Or at least I would have tried until I fell in on the second step.''
Word of Golf World's low opinion of Gallagher quickly circulated through Coldfield, England, site of the Ryder Cup matches. Maria Floyd, wife of U.S. teammate Raymond Floyd, was in a jewelry store when the jeweler started ribbing her about making a friendly bet.
The jeweler started popping off about how ``the young lamb'' was going to be ``thrown to the wolves.''
Maria Floyd told the jeweler to ``bet everything in your register.'' They settled on a wager of 100 pounds against her account and Floyd took Gallagher - by then known as ``Lamb Chop'' - in the final-day matches, not knowing who he'd play.
Gallagher raced to an early three-hole advantage and made it stand up in a 3-and-2 victory over Ballesteros.
``People had to think he was going to beat me,'' Gallagher recalls. ``Seve didn't underestimate me, but everybody else did. I was determined to get him down early and not give him any life.''
When it was over, Gallagher's new nickname was ``Killer Lamb Chop,'' another Maria Floyd touch.
``There was a very satisfying measure of gratification there,'' Gallagher said. ``Golf World printed an awful article. But they have to live with that. I was focused going over. And that article didn't do anything but help me keep my focus.''
Proving his Ryder Cup success wasn't a fluke, Gallagher returned to the U.S. and a month later won the Tour Championship, taking home a whopping $540,000 for his efforts. For the year, Gallagher won $1,078,870 to finish fourth on the PGA Tour money list.
As Gallagher points out, he wouldn't have played in the Ryder Cup and couldn't have won the Tour championship without his victory in the Anheuser-Busch.
``It turned an average year into a top-rate year,'' Gallagher said. ``Through April, May and June I was bothered by nerve damage in my neck that moved its way down into my shoulder and was affecting my game.
``I'd had a lot of expectations going into last year - I particularly wanted to make the Ryder Cup team - but those expectations were starting to slip away.''
Then Gallagher fired a final-round 65 at Kingsmill for a four-round total of 15-under-par 269, two better than Chip Beck.
The 150 Ryder Cup points which came with winning the Anheuser-Busch were enough for him to slip onto the team, earning the 10th and last automatic berth on the 12-man team (captain Watson chose the final two berths, picking Floyd and Lanny Wadkins).
Also, Gallagher's $198,000 check for winning the Anheuser-Busch put him among the top 30 money winners going into the Tour Championship. Only the top 30 are invited.
Gallagher has always had a soft spot for the Anheuser-Busch. While most pros claim they have a chance to win on any course, Gallagher is a realist. Obviously, Kingsmill's River Course suits his game.
Plus, the Anheuser-Busch granted Gallagher a sponsor's exemption in 1988 when he was struggling to remain on the PGA Tour.
``I didn't have my exempt tour card,'' Gallagher said. ``(Former Anheuser-Busch tournament director) Orion Burkhardt gave me a sponsor's exemption. I'll never forget that.''
Gallagher shot even-par 284 that year and pocketed $1,436. It might seem like small potatoes when compared to a winning purse. But when you are trying to regain your tour all-exempt card, every penny counts.
``Until you've been in those shoes, you don't know how tough a situation it is,'' Gallagher said. ``It made it that more meaningful to come back five years later and win the thing. I get a special feeling when I get here.''
In the hot, humid conditions that are almost a certainty for Williamsburg in July, it might not be a bad idea to just throw on shorts and a T-shirt if heading for the Anheuser-Busch. And if you are one of a privileged few who has a ``Killer Lamb Chop'' T-shirt, more power to you.
``An old friend of mine from South Carolina printed some up and sold them at a tournament earlier this year,'' Gallagher said. ``It has this cartoon of a demented lamb on the back.''
Maybe that friend of Gallagher's should think about selling those T-shirts in Williamsburg this week, seeing how Gallagher is a crowd favorite and defending champion.
And as for the nickname, it once ruffled Gallagher's feathers, but no longer.
``Hey, I'm a lamb with a Ryder Cup trophy,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Jim Gallagher Jr.
by CNB