SCOTTISH GOLF LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR TORRANCE

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION

Ryder Cup-winning captain Sam Torrance OBE is to receive a richly-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award when champions from across all levels of the game gather for the 2012 Annodata Scottish Golf Awards next month.

Torrance, one of Scotland’s greatest-ever golfers, will become the third recipient of the Scottish Golf's Lifetime Achievement accolade when the event takes place on Friday, March 23 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow.

The popular 58-year-old will be honoured in a year that marks the 10th anniversary of the Largs-born player’s successful captaincy of the European Ryder Cup team at The Belfry and the 40th anniversary of his maiden professional triumph.

Torrance, a charismatic personality in European golf, will follow in the spike marks of former Open champion Paul Lawrie and eight-time European Tour Order of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie, who received their accolades 12 months ago.

Torrance’s Award – sponsored by Allied Surveyors Scotland – reflects a glittering career, in which the Scot has claimed 21 European Tour victories and, to date, 11 European Senior Tour wins and three European Senior Tour Order of Merit titles.

Torrance was also a Dunhill Cup winner for Scotland in 1995, but his team achievements on the Ryder Cup stage were even more memorable.

Sam made eight consecutive Ryder Cup appearances between 1981 and 1995, winning three times, and famously holed the winning putt at The Belfry in 1985 – Europe’s first win over America in 28 years.

Following his captaincy heroics in 2002, Torrance will be reunited with the iconic Ryder Cup trophy at the Crowne Plaza, with the Solheim Cup, the Walker Cup and Claret Jug also on show to complete a truly unique gathering of golf’s most coveted trophies.

A limited number of tickets are still available for the event, with tables of 10 priced at £700 or individual places at £75 per person. To book, call the Ticket Hotline on 01334 466477 or purchase on-line via www.scottishgolf.org.

Alison Nicholas, Europe’s Solheim Cup-winning skipper last year, will also be a star guest on the night, while SGU Amateur Golfer of the Year Michael Stewart, a member of the victorious Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup side at Royal Aberdeen last September, will also take his seat.

The Annodata Scottish Golf Awards will be hosted by the BBC’s respected commentator Andrew Cotter, who anchored coverage at The Masters, Open Championship and Walker Cup during the 2011 season.

Torrance, who will take to the stage in front of his family including father Bob, the respected golf coach, said: “I am privileged to be receiving the Scottish Golf Lifetime Achievement Award and thoroughly looking forward to the evening.

“I have enjoyed a wonderful career and I would like to think I am not finished yet! I have many great memories and I look forward to sharing them with Scotland’s golf fans on the night.

“I love to play golf in Scotland and I love to come home to Scotland. This will be another memorable occasion for me at the Home of Golf.”

Ian Thomson, Managing Director of Allied Surveyors Scotland, said: “As long- term supporters of golf in Scotland, we are delighted to be sponsoring Sam’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a fantastic ambassador for our game and his presence at the event will enhance what is always a fantastic occasion.”

Before a likely sell-out crowd at the Scottish Golf Awards showpiece, Torrance will mingle with other winners across the game from grass roots champions through to Scotland’s leading amateur golfers, both male and female.

The event is available to all Scottish Golf fans and all proceeds from the event will go the development of junior golf in Scotland, including ClubGolf and the Scottish Golf Academy.