Sam Torrance hits out at Nick Faldo over Garcia

Nick Faldo, left, has come under fire from fellow Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance, right, for his comments on Sergio Garcia. Picture: AFP/Getty

Faldo caused controversy by questioning Garcia’s attitude during the 2008 contest when he led Europe to their only Ryder Cup defeat since 1999.

The Spaniard insisted he was happy to “forgive and forget” in the wake of Europe’s 16½-11½ victory at Gleneagles but Torrance, who served as one of Paul McGinley’s vice captains, was not so willing to forget the slur.

“To say that right in the middle of the Ryder Cup, what was the a***hole thinking about?”, he told the latest issue of Bunkered magazine.

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“The reaction in the team room was magnificent. The guys rallied round Garcia. Really, it was pathetic from Faldo. I’ve no idea where he was coming from with that stuff. You can even quote me on that, I don’t care.

“He’s an a***hole. It was beyond belief that one of our greatest-ever players would come out with a comment like that.

“Garcia’s not a team player? Garcia’s one of the best team players we have. He’s an incredible kid, with the heart of a lion.”

Torrance captained the Europeans to victory at the Belfry in 2002 and was full of praise for McGinley, crowned Coach of the Year at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards.

Torrance added: “Paul McGinley is the best captain there has ever been, there’s no question about that.”

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