The
Ryder Cup
in association with Genuity International |
| | | Torrance
to switch order of Ryder Cup play Sam
Torrance revealed yesterday that he is to bring back into play what Severiano
Ballesteros once called his “masterstroke” when he leads his Ryder Cup
troops into battle later this month. For only the third time in the history of
the competition, the four-balls will be played on each of the first two mornings
of the match, relegating the traditional foursomes to an after-lunch spot. Torrance,
who obtained the agreement of Curtis Strange, the United States captain, made
his choice two months ago after consulting Ballesteros, who picked up the strategy
from John Jacobs, the trail-blazer, when he captained the first Europe team at
The Greenbrier in 1979. “I
got Seve’s reasoning for four-balls first and I thought it was quite sound,
but I had my own reasons for it as well,” Torrance said. “I’m
probably going to field my strongest four teams first thing in the morning and
if I’m going to blood anyone I might do it in the foursomes. I couldn’t
do that with the foursomes in the morning but if it’s in the afternoon I
could bring some of the other guys in.” Thomas
Björn, who finished the day sharing second place with four other players
behind Ricardo Gonzalez, endorsed Torrance’s decision. “Four-balls
is much nicer because you go out with your own ball and to play your own ball,”
the Dane said. “Foursomes is a difficult thing to start out with, but I don’t
think the players minded much anyway. I would be very surprised if there are players
who have not played Ryder Cup before teeing it up on Friday morning.”
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