GOLF/WALES OPEN: There are only around 50 golfing days to the Ryder Cup and things have come to a pretty pass when the non-playing captain is playing a great deal better than 25 per cent of his team.
From David Davies
at Newport
Yesterday in the Wales Open here at Celtic Manor, Sam Torrance, Europe's skipper for the matches at the Belfry at the end of September, got round in 66, six under par - the kind of scoring that seems to be eluding many of the Europeans.
It left him only one shot behind the South African James Kingston and Australian Richard Green, and alongside the Welshman Bradley Dredge.
Asked how it felt to be showing the way to so many members of the side, the 48-year-old Torrance grinned and said: "That's not fair. I can't answer that."
But although he repeatedly rejects suggestions that he is worried, the time is rapidly arriving when, unless some of the culprits improve, he will have to be. Yesterday Torrance played with one of them - Phillip Price.
The Welshman finished with a 73. In his last four events he has missed the cut twice and finished 16th and 41st - not form that is going to worry an American.
"He'll be all right," said Torrance. "He's not far away." But the captain is, of course, obliged to say things like that.
In the group in front of him Lee Westwood was also giving cause for concern. The Englishman, currently 89th in the Volvo Order of Merit, has embarked on a strict diet and has lost four notches on his belt - almost a stone.
He looks terrific and his golf for the first five holes matched that. He was four-under at the time, but then proceeded to do what he has done all season: give back his advantage. He finished level.
At least Paul McGinley, the defending champion, put together a round of 69 and said that he had not played as well since April.
Torrance had almost missed out on the chance to do his score. Having misread his starting time, he was on the putting green when he was told that he had 40 seconds to get to the first tee.
"I did a Colin Jackson over the fence," said Torrance, "and got there with 20 seconds to spare. That fence," he smiled, "was only one inch lower than it needed to be."
Along with McGinley's hint at a return to form, it was a good day generally for the Irish. Darren Clarke and Des Smyth led the challenge with 68s, while Ronan Rafferty returned a 70.
Last week's stunning victory in the Scandinavian Masters seems to have had only minor affect on Graeme McDowell, who fired a 73. But David Higgins' misery continued as he again crashed to an 82 to trail the field.
Guardian Service
