Eleven years after leading Europe to Ryder Cup glory, Sam Torrance will return to the golfing frontline later this season to captain Great Britain & Ireland in the Seve Trophy.
The celebrated Scot will go up against last year's Ryder Cup winning skipper, Jose Maria Olazabal, after the Spaniard was chosen to lead the Continent of Europe for the contest at St Nom La Breteche in Paris in October.
The decision by the current European Ryder Cup captain, Paul McGinley, to give the respective roles to two old hands may be seen as something of a surprise given that the Seve Trophy has often been described as a breeding ground for future Ryder Cup leaders.
McGinley, who led Great Britain & Ireland to a sixth successive Seve Trophy victory two years ago, played under Torrance in the 2002 Ryder Cup and holed the winning putt at The Belfry, while he was a trusted and valued vice-captain to Olazabal during Europe's Miracle of Medinah last season. He believes that the next wave of potential European Ryder Cup players will benefit from the experience and knowledge of the two men at the helm.
Torrance, who will compete in this weekend's Scottish Senior Open at Fairmont St Andrews, is relishing the opportunity to get back into the cut-and-thrust of team competition.
"It's been 11 years since I took charge of the Ryder Cup team so I'm really looking forward to this," said the Largs veteran, of an event that was instigated by the late Seve Ballesteros back in 2000. "I've been keeping an eye on what has been going on, and so it will be a real privilege to be involved at the helm once again.
"It will be special to go up against Ollie as I've known him all my golfing life. But I also know it will be a tough challenge as we all saw the help he got from Seve at Medinah! Seriously though, it's wonderful to be part of Seve's heritage and legacy through an event I know he was a huge fan of."
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