SAM Torrance has hit back at fellow-Scot Colin Montgomerie, who has
criticised his decision to play in the Austrian Open, which starts
today, instead of the US PGA Championship.
Montgomerie, who is playing in the American tournament, said that
Torrance, Gordon Brand Jr, and David Gilford should have gone to Toledo
because European Tour officials had worked hard to secure invitations.
Torrance said: ''It was pretty ignorant of Monty to say that. I wasn't
invited to the US PGA, I was exempt, and after thinking long and hard
about it, I decided it was in my best interests to play in Austria.
''Monty is second and I'm third in the European Order of Merit and
Monty's cheesed off because, if I pass him and get into second place
after the German Open, I shall get into the World Match-play at
Wentworth.
''He also said we shouldn't be worrying about Ryder Cup points
because, if we win the US PGA, we would get into the Ryder Cup team
anyway. That's a load of rubbish.
''The US PGA will not get you any points and we can't all win it. In
any case, I'm not playing in Austria to get cup points. I think I'm
fairly safe already.''
Torrance said he was playing in Vienna because he wanted to play in
the World Match-play and aimed to be No.1 in Europe.
He is currently third in the money list behind Nick Faldo and
Montgomerie but says: ''This may be my last chance to finish first in
the Order of Merit. I shall be 40 later this month and it might be now
or never.''
The burly Scot is less than #5500 behind Montgomerie but #84,000
behind Faldo. A top-nine finish this week would give him enough prize
money to pass Montgomerie.
Gilford and Brand, unlike Torrance, are playing in the Austrian Open
in the hope of improving their Ryder Cup positions.
Brand is seventeenth in the cup table with 227,000 points and Gilford
nineteenth with nearly 216,000. But as 320,000 is the likely target to
make the top nine who are automatically selected, they need to win the
#41,660 first prize this week to make a significant advance.
Jamie Spence also is looking for Ryder Cup points and he is in a
slightly better position than either Gilford or Brand -- sixteenth with
241,000 points.
As Spence admits: ''I need to win this week. If I did I would move
into ninth place with only two more tournaments with points at stake.''
* FLOODED greens forced the abandonment of play in the second
qualifying round of the Highland Amateur championship yesterday at
Pitlochry. Tuesday's round only counted to produce the 32 qualifiers for
the match-play stage, which starts today. Draw:
D Hamilton (Dunbar) v A Kelly (Alyth); N Panton (Pitlochry) v F
Menzies (Kenmore); G Millar (Swanston) v R McNab (Dunnikier); D A Forbes
(Tantallon) v T McLevy (Blairgowrie); M Wilson (Pitlochry) v E Young
(Lochgelly); S Carruthers (Pitlochry) v J Laird (Pitlochry); B MacLeod
(Blair Atholl) v C Watson (Alyth); J Stevenson (Seahouses) v S Butler
(Old Fold Manor); G Carter (Ladybank) v S Miller (Blairgowrie); L Liney
(Pitlochry) v I Hayward (Shirehampton); R Steib (Yankee Run) v J
Richardson (Downfield); M Rose (Pitlochry) v J Sanaghan (Thornton); R
Dargie (Alyth) v C Bloice (Pitlochry); S McGinlay (Blair Atholl) v K
Goodwin (Newbattle); D Cameron (Pitlochry) v M Ready (Old Fold Manor); R
Moir (Balbirnie Park) v K Liddle (Liberton).
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