European Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance revealed today that he has changed his mind several times over the past few days about what his pairings should be for this weekend's tournament. While American captain Curtis Strange has already settled on his line-up for the first day of the competition, Torrance has admitted that the practice sessions have given him some food for thought.
"A couple of things have changed already this week," Torrance said. "If they are not right you have to shuffle and re-arrange it to make them right. That's what the practice rounds are for, to get the right team for Friday. I'm just trying to get what I think is the best pairing together."
Torrance's willingness to weigh up all his options was evident during yesterday's and today's practice sessions. Darren Clarke was paired with Thomas Bjorn rather than his usual partner Lee Westwood. Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik were unbeaten in four matches at Brookline but have yet to play together this week. Garcia has been playing with Westwood today.
Meawhile, Padraig Harrington has played with Niclas Fasth this week, although he is expected to be paired with fellow Dubliner Paul McGinley, whom he teamed up with yesterday and today while there were a few raised eyebrows when Torrance decided to match up rookies Phillip Price and Pierre Fulke. It remains to be seen what the Scot's final pairings will be come Friday.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
