It had been a long wait for the first Scottish Ryder Cup debutant of the 21st century to make an appearance, and expectations were high.

A member of a family that can almost be considered Ryder Cup royalty, Stephen Gallacher had served the longest of apprenticeships, having spent close to two decades as a professional.

During that time, he has played the PGA Centenary course on which this year's event is being held more often than any other involved in this match and has done so impressively with a string of top-10 finishes in European Tour tournaments held over it, losing last year's Johnnie Walker Championship only in a play-off.

No Ryder Cup rookie had ever been better prepared and he received the welcome he deserved on the first tee, and revelled in the moment.

"It was a special reception, something I will definitely remember for the rest of my life. It was just euphoric, really," he said.

"Yeah, the first tee in a Ryder Cup is special, but obviously special in your own country. It takes it to another level I think, but it was what I expected, basically . . . and a bit more."

However, what happened thereafter was very different from what he and his every well-wisher anticipated.

Considered one of the most reliable ball-strikers on the European Tour, his opening drive headed right and into a fairway bunker. From there his second headed for the marsh, short and right again. He did not complete the hole and, with Ian Poulter unable to save par after finding a greenside bunker, they were behind, never to get back on terms.

A fine 12-foot putt from Gallacher at the second did avoid the deficit being doubled, but that was his only contribution in the first six holes, during which he struck more wayward shots than he might normally be expected to do in a month of tournament play.

At the third, he hit his drive right of the cart path; at the fifth, he was wide right again before making another visit to the marshes and, at the short sixth, he found a green-side bunker.

Not that Poulter, for all his magnificent Ryder Cup record, was performing much better. Indeed, that Jordan Speith and Patrick Reed only increased their lead at the short sixth, when the latter rattled in a 30-foot putt, owed more to their previous missed opportunities up to that point.

When, after a fine drive at the seventh, Gallacher pulled his second shot wide of the green, then failed once again to get on to the putting surface with his recovery attempt from a far from impossible spot as the Americans surged into a three-hole lead, there could be little doubt that, for all his experience, Gallacher was not quite himself and he was man enough to admit as much afterwards.

"I think your first Ryder Cup, obviously there's a bit of excitement and a bit of, sort of . . . don't really know what to expect," the 39-year-old acknowledged.

"It took me maybe about five or six holes to get into it. I was a bit out of my rhythm."

Even then, however, he was unwilling to look for excuses and expressed only gratitude to those making this event so different from any event Gallacher has ever played in before.

"I would rather have the fans on your side and cheering for you than not," he said. "I don't feel any more pressure, to be honest. It's a team game. It's not down to me or anything like that and I know the fans here are very partisan and will be cheering us on for the next couple of days, and I'm sure they might become the 13th man."

As those following him traipsed down the eighth fairway, one Scottish journalist slightly cruelly joked that he was looking out a phone number for Luke Donald, the former world No.1, who had missed out on a wild card in favour of both Gallacher and Poulter, to get his reaction to the way they were playing.

At that precise point, Gallacher finally offered a true reminder of why he is on the team as an impeccable approach shot finished four feet away, but once again the birdie attempt slipped past, as did what proved the final chance to breathe life into the match.

As if to demonstrate that the golfing gods had turned their back on him, Gallacher then hit another magnificent approach at the ninth which hit the pin - prompting a fist bump from Poulter, who had just squirted his second at the hole deep into a pond and was desperate to generate some energy - only for the ball to rebound some 12 feet away, while Reed knocked his approach in to four feet.

Gallacher missed, Reed holed, the gap was four holes, and when the young Americans took turns to birdie the next two holes there was a real danger of record territory being entered for a fourball Ryder Cup match.

To his great credit, it was the Scot who did what was required to prevent that from happening as the only one of the quartet to play the long 12th perfectly in registering a birdie and claiming the honour for the first time all morning, but two more halves in par put him and his partner out of their misery.