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Sam Torrance has refuted claims that the USA are about to enter a sustained spell of Ryder Cup dominance and believes that underdogs Europe will win in France.
Speaking in Issue 166 of bunkered, which is on newsstands now, Torrance – an eight-time player in the match – pushed back on a column written by Sports Illustrated’s Alan Shipnuck last November, where he predicted ‘a decade-plus of blowouts, sapping the intrigue out of the Ryder Cup’.
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“It’s all hypothetical,” he said. “Who the hell can really know? I get that they’ve got to say something and support their own players – and why wouldn’t they? – but recent history says differently.
“They’ve won two of the last eight and four of the last 16, so they’ve hardly been dominant.
“I think we’ve got a great chance this time around, no matter what they say. We’ve got home advantage, course knowledge, and a fresh, young, strong team. I’m looking forward to a great match, which I think we’ll win.”
As well as playing in the competition eight times, Torrance also captained the European team at The Belfry in 2002, which they won 15.5 to 12.5.
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So, how does he think 2018 captain Thomas Bjorn will perform under pressure in Paris?
“He’s got an immense amount of experience, for one thing,” he added. “He’s been a vice-captain four times and he’s played in a couple, so he knows what it’s all about.
“He’s a clever boy.
He’ll have a good game plan and he’ll have the respect of the players, too, so I think he’ll do great.”
Read Sam’s interview in full
To read the interview with Sam Torrance in full, where the Scot also talks about rowdy fan behaviour, the growth of the match, the US task force and much more besides, pick up a copy of Issue 166 of bunkered. Out now!
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