Alan Pattullo: Sam Torrance and ian Woosnam count down the days to Ryder Cup engagement

Published on Friday 20 August 2010 14:30

What Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam don't know about skippering at the Ryder Cup can be written on the corner of one of the serviettes artfully folded on the dining room tables below. We are in the well-appointed Fairmont St Andrews hotel, on the fringe of the Torrance-designed course where both men are featuring in the Cleveland Golf/Srixon Scottish Senior Open.

But thoughts, naturally, turn to the Ryder Cup, being held in what Torrance reports is just 45 days' time.

"How many hours, how many minutes?" chirrups Woosnam. These fellows are perhaps expected to set their dials by the event. But it's not just them. Everyone appears to be obsessed with the tournament. "Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out?" as King Lear once pondered. But when the wind blows and cracks its cheeks at Celtic Manor - and who's betting, come the Autumn, that it won't? - these questions, and many more, will have been answered by Colin Montgomerie, the man attempting to follow in the footsteps of the two gentlemen sitting side by side on the sofa by winning the Ryder Cup on home turf.

They are both mines of information about the competition. They relished playing in it - Woosnam's first match was in 1983 alongside Torrance, with whom he halved a fourballs clash with Ben Crenshaw and Calvin Peete - and they are now perhaps defined by their stints as winning European captains. The top Google search under Ian Woosnam's name, above his Masters win in 1991, is, indeed, 'Ryder Cup'. Torrance, meanwhile, has a book out next month entitled An Enduring Passion. It is not about roll-ups or whisky or Celtic. It is about... well, no prizes for guessing what.

Torrance: "Ian and I have loved the Ryder Cup since we were born. How many have you played - eight or nine?"

Woosnam: "Eight".

Torrance: "We have both played eight Ryder Cups and it still means as much to us as it ever did. We are both caught up in the hype. This one is looking like it'll be a great one, too."

When granted the company of these two men the best thing to do is leave them to get on with it. But an obvious question is to ask whether Montgomerie has been in touch, to do what I am trying to do now, which is wring them for information and insight about a tournament that catches the imagination of the sporting world every two years. No, is the short answer. But neither seem affronted.

Indeed, Torrance, when he was skipper in 2002 at the Belfry, sought out guidance from sources other than previous captains, including Sven Goran Eriksson when he found himself sitting next to the then England manager on a plane ("he didn't offer much").

Torrance: "I never spoke to any Ryder Cup captains. Colin has played in eight or nine Ryder Cups. He knows exactly what it is all about. He will just do his own thing. There was nothing other Ryder Cup captains could tell me. I spoke to other people. I took whatever I could from each of the captains I played under. It is a personal thing, the captaincy. There is nothing that he (Montgomerie] does not know about it - he has been through the mill a bit in the Ryder Cup."

Montgomerie has been through the mill in general, but Torrance believes he is a good choice. Better now than in 2014 at Gleneagles, when he will be more distant from the players on the tour. In Wales at the start of October the Scot will have to expect to be on hand to satisfy their every whim.

Torrance: "You are so cossetted as a player, you don't see what goes on. That's the way it should be. But there are all these demands, and what they want: sandwiches on the course, a cup of tea at bed-time. Of course, you have to delegate. I couldn't see myself stitching up trousers, but I would have done."

Woosnam: "That's something Monty has to be aware of. He also has to use his experience of what the weather can be like. I thought it was very important to get the right equipment. Things like waterproofs - we took it to another level with them (at the K Club]. It's important to be dry and warm. Setting up the golf course is something else, and you need to get the players involved. See how they feel on the practice rounds. Do you want to have one cut or two cuts around the greens?"

It seems one hell of a responsibility. Anything you can compare it with? Torrance: "Marriage, parenthood. That's it.... It's a wonderful challenge."

It's also a tough job, and tougher at home than away, according to Torrance. Nick Faldo, who led Europe to defeat in Kentucky two years ago, might not agree. Not that Torrance probably cares.

There is also the personal cost that is borne by the skippers. Relationships have a habit of curdling and souring since it is the task of the captain to not only pick three wild cards but also to inform others in the running that they haven't been selected. Woosnam didn't tell Thomas Bjorn, forming the basis of a rift which hasn't healed to this day.

Woosnam: "I left out Bjorn. I didn't ring him up. The reason was I didn't make up my mind until the last minute. There were no hard feelings on my part... but it'll never be the same."

Torrance told Jose-Maria Olazabal in person that he had picked Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik instead. Torrance: "I met Olazabal off the last green somewhere. He was the only one I was worried about. He wasn't happy. But there was nothing I could do. He was not playing well, he was not driving well. It seemed to me there was not a choice. But it was a choice I had to make." Did it continue to infect his relationship with Olazabal? Torrance: "Absolutely, yeah... It's kind of OK now. But tough sh*t, get over it. It's not my fault you were not playing well enough."

It leaves only one question. Who would they choose as their three captain's picks, apart from each other? Actually, Torrance didn't go for Woosnam in 2002. "If I had only had 14 clubs I would have been there too," sighs the Welshman, with reference to his calamitous two-shot penalty for having an extra club in his bag at the Open in 2001.

Torrance: "To me right now there are only three picks: Paul Casey, Padraig Harrington and Justin Rose. Justin has won twice in America this year and Casey has come right back on form in the last three months. And Harrington is Harrington."

Woosnam is not so strident: "I'm not going to say anything - I will keep my mouth shut." Thankfully he can't keep his mouth shut for long.

This pair could do a turn at the Edinburgh festival. But they are currently appearing at the Cleveland Golf/Srixon Scottish Senior Open. For two more days only, though. Catch them while you can.