ROCCA MAKES SENIORS DEBUT ALONGSIDE
TORRANCE IN ITALIAN OVER-50s OPEN

Costantino Rocca, Italy's most successful golfer, will begin his career on the European Seniors Tour on Friday when he tees up alongside former Ryder Cup team-mate Sam Torrance in the Sharp Italian Seniors Open.
There can be few more appropriate starting points for the latest chapter in Rocca's successful golfing story than in Italy and the wonderful shot-maker's course at the historic Circolo Golf Venezia, where Torrance will be defending the title.
Rocca, 50 in December last year, is a true stalwart of European golf, having graduated through the Challenge Tour before going on to win five times on the European Tour and play in three consecutive Ryder Cups (1993, '95 and '97).
To date he remains the only Italian to have featured in the biennial contests against the United States and is fondly remembered for his crucial singles win, by 4 and 2, over Tiger Woods at Club de Golf Valderrama, which helped Europe win the 1997 Ryder Cup.
Two years earlier, at Oak Hill Country Club in New York, Rocca won both his foursomes matches playing with Torrance.
Rocca's greatest individual success came in 1996 when he won the PGA championship at Wentworth Club, which helped to erase some of the disappointment felt at losing a play-off to John Daly in the 1995 Open Championship at St Andrews.
VERY SPECIAL
"For any Italian golfer to play on home soil is very special and it will be no different for me in Venice. I was not fortunate enough to win the Italian Open on the European Tour in my career so maybe I can put that right with a Seniors victory in Italy," said Rocca.
"After 15 years on Tour, and not having that much time off, I stopped playing in October and started again in April. I felt I needed the time to relax and to prepare for the next part of my career and this break has helped me a lot mentally.
"However, I will not be relaxed when I play tournament golf again; I will be trying as hard as I ever did on the European Tour. When you get on a golf course with the idea of winning, nothing changes in your mind. The desire to win is just as strong."
Last year, Torrance closed with a faultless five under par 67 to secure the title by four strokes from Ireland's Eamonn Darcy, who finished runner-up for the second consecutive year, having lost a play-off to Gery Watine of France in 2005.
Darcy is not able to avenge those two narrow defeats as a shoulder injury has forced him to withdraw from this week's event.