| Sam Torrance | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Sam Torrance OBE |
| Born | 24 August 1953 Largs, Scotland |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Nationality |  Scotland |
| Residence | Virginia Water, England |
| Spouse | Suzanne Danielle (m.1988) |
| Children | Daniel, Phoebe, Anouska |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1970 |
| Current tour(s) | European Seniors Tour |
| Former tour(s) | European Tour |
| Professional wins | 43 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| European Tour | 21 (9th all time) |
| European Seniors Tour | 11 |
| Best results in Major Championships |
|
| The Masters | T31: 1985 |
| U.S. Open | T16: 1996 |
| Open Championship | 5th: 1981 |
| PGA Championship | T23: 1995 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire |
2003 |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year |
1972 |
Sam Torrance OBE (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. He holds the record for the most appearances on the European Tour, with over 700 events played at the close of the 2008 season. 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.[citation needed]
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 A Question of Sport, a show he has been on numerous times. Starring alongside Sharron Davies and team captain Phil Tufnell they made history by achieving the first ever perfect score on A Question of Sport. Torrance's contribution was vital for team success going for the tricky "away" question and also providing the quip "chalk-strap".
Sam Torrance along with Kelly Tilghman provide commentary for Tiger Woods 2009 on the XBOX 360.
Contents |
European Tour wins (21)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 May 1976 | Piccadilly Medal | 3&2 |  Bob Shearer |
|
| 2 | 12 Jun 1976 | Martini International | -8 (69-67-71-73=280) | 2 strokes |  Tommy Horton |
| 3 | 16 Aug 1981 | Carroll's Irish Open | -12 (68-67-69-72=276) | 5 strokes | Nick Faldo |
| 4 | 3 Aug 1982 | Benson & Hedges Spanish Open | -15 (71-65-67-70=273) | 8 strokes | Roger Chapman,  Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam |
| 5 | 7 Nov 1982 | Portuguese Open | -9 (71-67-69=207) | 4 strokes | Nick Faldo |
| 6 | 3 Jul 1983 | Scandinavian Enterprise Open | -8 (73-69-68-70=280) | 1 stroke |  Craig Stadler |
| 7 | 6 Nov 1983 | Portuguese Open | -2 (72-73-71-70=286) | 3 strokes | Chris Moody |
| 8 | 15 Apr 1984 | Tunisian Open | -6 (66-71-75-70=282) | 1 stroke | Brian Waites |
| 9 | 19 Aug 1984 | Benson & Hedges International Open | -18 (63-68-70-69=270) | 1 stroke | Wayne Grady |
| 10 | 23 Sep 1984 | Sanyo Open | -7 (71-69-70-71=281) | Playoff |  Des Smyth |
| 11 | 30 Jun 1985 | Johnnie Walker Monte Carlo Open | -12 (69-63-62-70=264) | 1 stroke |  Isao Aoki |
| 12 | 3 May 1987 | Lancia Italian Open | -17 (64-68-71-68=271) | Playoff |  José Rivero |
| 13 | 7 Oct 1990 | Mercedes German Masters | -16 (70-65-64-73=272) | 3 strokes |  Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam |
| 14 | 14 Apr 1991 | Jersey European Airways Open | -9 (68-69-69-73=279) | 1 stroke | Mark Davis |
| 15 | 28 Mar 1993 | Kronenbourg Open | -4 (69-68-73-74=284) | 1 stroke | Mike Miller |
| 16 | 25 Apr 1993 | Heineken Open | -15 (66-65-70=201) | 2 strokes | Jay Townsend |
| 17 | 13 Jun 1993 | Honda Open | -10 (68-69-68-73=278) | Playoff | Paul Broadhurst,  Johan Rystrom, Ian Woosnam |
| 18 | 7 May 1995 | Italian Open | -19 (69-70-63-67=269) | 2 strokes | José Rivero |
| 19 | 9 Jul 1995 | Murphy's Irish Open | -11 (68-68-70-71=277) | Playoff | Stuart Cage, Howard Clark |
| 20 | 17 Sep 1995 | Collingtree British Masters | -18 (67-66-68-69=270) | 1 stroke |  Michael Campbell |
| 21 | 28 Jun 1998 | Peugeot Open de France | -12 (64-70-72-70=276) | 2 strokes |  Olivier Edmond,  Massimo Florioli, Mathew Goggin, Bernhard Langer |
Other wins (11)
- 1972 Radici Open (Italy), Under-25 Match Play Championship
- 1975 Zambia 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
European Seniors Tour wins (11)
- 2004 (1) Travis Perkins Senior Masters
- 2005 (3) Irvine Whitlock Seniors Classic, De Vere PGA Seniors Championship, Bendinat London Seniors Masters
- 2006 (4) Sharp Italian Seniors Open, AIB Irish Seniors Open, PGA Seniors Championship, Scottish Seniors Open
- 2007 (1) Bendinat London Seniors Masters
- 2008 (1) OKI Castellón Open España - Senior Tour Championship
- 2009 (1) DGM Barbados Open
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
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | T46 | CUT | CUT | T19 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T31 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | T38 | 5 | 12 | T53 | T9 | T16 | T21 | T50 | T48 | CUT |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| 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
See also
External links
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