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Europe captain Thomas Bjorn must trust his instinct to pull off Ryder Cup shock, says Sam Torrance

Team Europe: REUTERS
Team Europe: REUTERS

Any highlights showreel of the Ryder Cup’s history is incomplete without Sam Torrance.

After sinking the putt to win the trophy in 1985 and again 17 years later, as captain and architect of another European triumph, the arms were raised aloft, his eyes welling with tear.

Having played in eight consecutive tournaments from 1981 — never once needing a wildcard pick — he talks with childlike excitement about the event, which this year he will call from the commentary box.

And the 65-year-old Scot believes that Europe’s latest captain, Thomas Bjorn, has the knowhow to write his name into Ryder Cup folklore when the 42nd edition tees off at Le Golf National in Paris on Friday.

“I know what the players are going through and I know what Thomas is going through,” said Torrance. “He will be an excellent captain. He’s very strong minded and it looks like he’s done an excellent job so far.

“All he needs to do is just to trust his heart and his instinct, stick to his mind. So, if the Friday morning fourballs don’t go well, just trust yourself for the afternoon picks. A player can win by five in the morning and lose by three in the afternoon.”

Torrance makes the Ryder Cup captaincy sound like the easiest job in the world but, in many ways, his was the hardest, the event delayed by a year following the terrorist atrocities of 9/11 and then having the same line-up of players a year on, some of whom had lost their form.

Despite that, he said: “I’d say 2002 was the most relaxed I’d been at a tournament. I’d done everything I could. It had absolutely taken two years of my being, but all I had to do was lead. The players did everything. Mine was the easy bit.”

But such a take on the events at The Belfry, when Europe won 15½-12½ — fittingly the biggest winning margin since Torrance’s heroics in 1985 — belittles his tactical nous, shunning the usual pairing of Lee Westwood-Darren Clarke to couple the former with Sergio Garcia. It proved a master stroke.

Champagne moment: Torrance celebrates after leading Europe to victory in 2002 (AFP/Getty Images)
Champagne moment: Torrance celebrates after leading Europe to victory in 2002 (AFP/Getty Images)

“It’s odd as they’d not practised together, but something in me just felt right,” he said. “On the pairings, you have to go on instinct. With that in mind, I didn’t watch a single American golf shot from Monday to Friday [in practice] as I didn’t want that to affect my pairing. I’d recommend the same to Thomas, otherwise it clouds your thinking.”

Europe find themselves as the underdogs with the bookmakers, understandable with six American players in the world’s top 10, but Torrance believes that thinking is awry.

“The US are probably the favourites on paper, but I’d disagree with that,” he said. “We’ve got both home advantage and drive advantage. For six of the US team, their drive is the best part of their game, and it’s a course where only three or four holes will need a driver.”

As for Europe, he believes there are half a dozen players that could prove to be the team’s talisman, including some of Bjorn’s five rookies. “Rookies?” he questioned. “It’s not quite the right word for the likes of Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton, for example. These guys have won big events. Every one of them has a chance to be a star.”

But as to how events unfold, he said: “I have no idea — the Ryder Cup never ceases to amaze me. The memories I have of it are ones I never want to leave me. The captaincy was the most important moment in my career, my best win, and of course I’ll never forget 1985. I think about it all the time.”