Sam Torrance is in there

pitching at Woburn

By RODDY WILLIAMS

European Tour's website editor and senior Press Officer
Sam Torrance is well placed to mount an assault on the summit of the European Senior Tour Order of Merit after an opening one under par 71 in the Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters at Woburn Golf Club today.

Torrance, pictured, who needs a top four finish to overtake both Ian Woosnam and Mark McNulty in the race to finish Number One, lies just two shots behind leaders Zimbabwe’s Tony Johnstone, Italian Costantino Rocca and Australian Peter Senior.
Another Scot, Bill Longmuir, is also right up there among the leaders at two under par having held the outright lead after 16 holes before bogeying the last two.
Torrance made three birdies against two bogeys, and it was the shot to the 14th green, a 50yd hook from behind trees to eight feet to set up a birdie 4 which proved the highlight of the round.
“It was a bit scrappy but I putted well so when I missed a green I got it up and down for par,” said the former Ryder Cup captain. “The game is not quite right there but I am in good shape.”
As for his prospects of overtaking Woosnam, who opened with a 75, and regaining the Order of Merit title he won in 2005 and 2006, Torrance said: “It is obviously my aim but not something you think about while you are playing at all. But the first thing I look at when I come in is Woosie and Carl Mason’s scores so it is obviously in the back of my mind.”
Australian Senior is playing only his second event since turning 50 in July and, with a top five finish already under his belt, as well as a number of high finishes early in the year on the regular Tour, Peter has been widely tipped to win this week.
For 11 holes he was on fire, rolling in five birdies to pull clear of the field. But a bogey at the 12th and double bogey at the 14th saw him drop back before drawing level with the leaders with as birdie on the 17th.
Johnstone felt his 69 could not have been any worse, and but for two severe putting horseshoes he could have held the outright lead as he looks to win at Woburn for the first time after a number of near-misses over the years, notably when he lost out on the British Masters title in 1992 to Ireland’s Christy O’Connor Jnr.
Johnstone and Rocca are both working with new caddies, Johnstone reverting back to the experienced bagman he worked with for many years on the European Tour, while Rocca went to the other extreme in offering a job to a complete novice over a beer.
Both, however, were quick to praise the new men at their sides, Johnstone complimenting Neil Smithers on his skills of reading the greens, while Rocca pointed out that, at 6ft 3in, his caddie, Matt Collings, is much better at knowing what the wind is doing than himself at a lowly 5 ft 9 in.