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Sam Torrance (born 24 August 1953) is a Scottish golfer who was one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid 1970s to the late 1990s and was the winning non-playing captain of the European Ryder Cup team in 2002.
Torrance turned professional at sixteen and joined the European Tour at seventeen. He achieved his first professional win in 1972 and his first European Tour win in 1976. He won twenty-one times on the European Tour; only fellow Scot Colin Montgomerie has accumulated more European Tour titles without winning one of golf's four major championships. His best finish on the European Tour Order of Merit was second, which he achieved in 1984 and 1995. In total he finished in the top ten on the list ten times. In 2003 Torrance became eligible to play in senior tournaments and he picked up his first win on the European Seniors Tour in 2004. He topped the European Seniors Tour's Order of Merit in both 2005 and 2006.
Torrance played for Europe in the Ryder Cup eight times. In 1985 he sank the winning putt which deprived the Americans of the trophy for the first time in twenty-eight years. Seventeen years later he was the non-playing captain on the European team which won the 2002 Cup at The Belfry. This made him the second European Captain to sink the winning putt and Captain a winning team at separate Ryder Cups, after Seve Ballesteros in 1987 (as a player) and 1997 (as Captain).
Torrance married English actress Suzanne Danielle in 1988. They have 3 children, the oldest of whom is called Tom and works as a Civil Engineer in Cambridge.
He was awarded an MBE in 1996 for services to golf and an OBE in the 2003 New Year Honours List for his captaincy of Europe's Ryder Cup team.
On 17 March 2008 Torrance filmed for Question of Sport, a show he has been on numerous times. Starring alongside Sharon Davies and team captain Phil Tuffnel they made history by achieving the first ever perfect score on Question of Sport. Torrance's contribution was vital for team success going for the tricky "away" question and also providing the quip "chalk-strap".
[edit] European Tour wins (21)
[edit] Other wins (11)
- 1972 Radici Open (Italy), Under-25 Match Play Championship
- 1975 Zambian Open
- 1978 Scottish Professional Championship
- 1979 Colombian Open
- 1980 Australian PGA Championship, Scottish Professional Championship
- 1983 C* Scottish PGA Championship (Challenge Tour)
- 1985 Scottish Professional Championship
- 1991 Scottish Professional Championship
- 1993 Scottish Professional Championship
- 2006 Hassan II Golf Trophy
[edit] European Seniors Tour wins (9)
[edit] Team appearances
- Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1981, 1983, 1985 (winners), 1987 (winners), 1989 (tied and retained trophy), 1991, 1993, 1995 (winners), 2002 (non-playing captain of winning team)
- Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Scotland): 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995 (winning team), 1999
- World Cup (representing Scotland): 1976, 1978, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995
- Four Tours World Championship: 1985, 1991 (winning captain)
- Hennessy Cognac Cup: 1976 (winners), 1978 (winners), 1980 (winners), 1982 (winners), 1984
- Double Diamond: 1973 (winners), 1976, 1977
- UBS Cup: 2001, 2002, 2003
[edit] Results in major championships
| Tournament |
1990 |
1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
| The Masters |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
T33 |
DNP |
CUT |
T39 |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
| U.S. Open |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
DNP |
T21 |
DNP |
T16 |
DNP |
DNP |
CUT |
DNP |
| The Open Championship |
T39 |
T44 |
CUT |
T51 |
CUT |
T11 |
CUT |
CUT |
T23 |
DNP |
CUT |
| PGA Championship |
DNP |
CUT |
DNP |
DNP |
T30 |
T23 |
CUT |
T45 |
DNP |
DNP |
CUT |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Scotland
