A day after being selected by Paul McGinley as a Seve Trophy captain and Sam Torrance declared his availability as one Irishman’s 2014 Gleneagles Ryder Cup vice-captains.
McGinley seems to have clearly sounded his Ryder Cup backroom team leaders as a ‘Thank You’ in appointing Torrance and Jose Maria Olazabal to captain October’s rival Seve Trophy sides in France.
Torrance captained the 2002 winning European Team at The Belfry and where McGinley became the hero when he holed the winning putt.
And Olazabal, with McGinley as one of his vice-captains, led Europe’s Medinah Miracle men to success late last year in suburban Chicago.
“I thought my captaincy days were over when Paul phoned me over the weekend and I never thought for a moment my next captaincy would be against the Europeans,” said Torrance smiling ahead of today’s (FRD) commencing Scottish Seniors at St. Andrews.
Jose Maria Olazabal and Sam Torrance firm as 2014 Ryder Cup vice captains after their appointment as rival Seve Trophy captains. (Photo – www.europeantour.com)
“But then if Paul asked me to be a Gleneagles vice-captain I would be delighted.
“Paul has been singing my praise for some time now and it’s lovely that people like Paul and those who played in the event thought so much of what I did at The Belfry at that’s important to me, and that’s great,” said Torrance .
“But Paul will be a fantastic champion as he is analytical and meticulous and he will not leave any stone unturned, and he will be looking to gain any advantage for Europe which will be fantastic.
“It’s for that reason I was not surprised when he was appointed earlier this year as captain. I knew watching him at the two Seve Trophy events he would be an ideal Ryder Cup captain.
“He did everything so well. He spoke well and Paul just ticks all the boxes and the Seve Trophy was the ideal breeding ground for Paul to be appointed Ryder Cup captain.”
However Torrance will struggle to attract many of Europe’s US-based players to tee-up in France on October 3rd, including Graeme McDowell who is already on record as a non-starter, but the Scot says it’s a great chance for younger players to be exposed to team competition.
“There will be quite a few qualifiers that won’t be able to play on either team and that’s fine and even better because it will give younger players the chance to be exposed to that environment.
“Ultimately it is the Ryder Cup that want be play in and win, so the Seve Trophy will be a good breeding ground for them so it’s brilliant.”
And while both the PGA and European Tours now have denied any talk of a takeover bid of the European Tour, Torrance surprisingly supports such a bid.
“I think it would be a fantastic idea and it didn’t do Manchester United any harm, did it?” said Torrance.
“The PGA Tour is the best tour in the world and if they are considering buying and running the European Tour then I have no problem with that.
“George (O’Grady – European Tour CEO) is ready to retire in the next three, four to five years and it looks perfect timing to me.
“So it would be fantastic and as long as they can give us a pension fund back dated 43 years and I would be extremely happy (laughing).
“But seriously it would be great for Europe and besides golf has become a world tour and with the European Tour already very much an international tour given we play out in Asia and the Middle East.
“It would also be a boost for our own Seniors Tour that is struggling with just 10 to 12 tournaments, so I would very much like see the main European Tour solidify with the PGA Tour as European golf has not been better.
“The last 15 years has not been better for Europe and we should be at the top and it wouldn’t harm the European Tour.
