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Collin Morikawa ‘extraordinary’ but Bryson DeChambeau is nearest thing to Tiger Woods, insists Sam Torrance, as European Tour legend talks DP World Tour and Rory McIlroy
As the most recent Ryder Cup showed, times are changing in golf. Just ask the legendary Sam Torrance.
It's transformed into a whole new game since his final European Tour (soon to be DP World Tour) victory in 1998.
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Revamped circuits get new titles, drives go further, and Team USA can beat Team Europe.
But even if golf is currently dominated by Americans, the game’s future looks bright.
Quite fitting, then, that one of its most exciting young players, Collin Morikawa, leads the Race to Dubai ahead of the European Tour's big climax at the DP World Tour Championship this weekend.
The Champion Golfer of the Year, a star of Steve Stricker’s successful Ryder Cup team, has drawn comparisons with Tiger Woods for bursting onto the scene so impressively at such a young age.
Indeed, Morikawa and Woods are the only players to win The Open and the USPGA Championship before turning 25, doing things that defy belief in the process.
But while Torrance loves Morikawa, the iconic Scotsman insists nobody can be compared to Woods.
And if forced to pick the nearest thing, the triumphant Team Europe captain of 2002 would opt for another young American…
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“There isn’t anybody like Tiger Woods,” Torrance told marvelbet369.com via BoyleSports . “He’s the God, the enigma, I don’t think we’ll see the likes of him ever again. Morikawa is an extraordinary, fantastic player. But Tiger was dynamic.
“Morikawa is more of a Neil Coles of my era, a beautiful player, but not Tiger Woods! He is so far ahead of virtually anything we’ve ever seen. If you sit down and read his record. Jack Nicklaus’ is extraordinary and always will be, especially his runner-ups. But Woods is different.
“I think Bryson DeChambeau is the nearest thing to what Tiger was when he burst onto the scene. He’s created as much excitement, but they’ve all got so much to go before they get anywhere near Tiger.”
DeChambeau - golf’s beefy, big-hitting scientist - has sparked plenty of controversy with his approach, as the game’s authorities continually try to protect it from his ‘bomb and gauge’ technique.
But Torrance is a fan. He continued: “It’s extraordinary. My father taught me all my life and the first thing he taught me was to make as big a shoulder turn as I can, hit it as far as I can and we’ll straighten it up later. Unfortunately he’s passed now and we never managed to straighten it up enough!
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“But it was always about power and I love the way they’ve developed the game. They’ve cut the length of the driver down and I don’t mind that at all.
"I thought the Ryder Cup in Paris was the way to curb long driving. When you missed the fairway, you were coming out sideways, you can’t hit the green.
“But for someone who has developed this length of driving in his armoury, to take that away from them would break my heart, it’s what it’s about!”
One player who tried a little too hard to match DeChambeau’s absurd power is Rory McIlroy.
The Northern Irishman even admitted speed drills might’ve messed up his near-perfect swing in a candid interview last year.
Despite a torrid Ryder Cup, McIlroy returned to the winners’ circle with victory at the CJ Cup in October, and success wasn’t the only thing that came back.
The 32-year-old, without a Major in seven years, is back working with childhood instructor Michael Bannon after a brief spell with swing guru Pete Cowen.
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And Torrance believes Rory might’ve finally learned an important lesson.
“Certain players have tried to find something more,” the 68-year-old added.
“But I think he now realises he doesn’t need anything more. He can hit it 320. OK, it’s not 350, but it’s far enough for any golf course that’s ever been built. He’s gone back, not to basics, but to what he knows.
“They all talk about every position he’s in on the backswing, the downswing, the follow-through - every position is the perfect position.
“Rory is a very smart kid, a lovely kid, he came and stayed with me for a week when he was 14, so I know him well. I think this move back to Michael will be a great move for him to just hone what he’s got.
"You don’t need to search for perfection. My father searched for the secret his whole life and he never found it.”
Now that’s something even the part-time hacker can relate to, right there.
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Torrance was far better than that, though - and this weekend marks the end of an era which he knew more than most.
The legendary Scottish golfer won 21 times on the European Tour - which won’t be called that any longer once the DP World Tour Championship ends on Sunday.
Given two Americans, Morikawa and Billy Horschel, are most likely to win this season’s Race to Dubai - it’s about time the Tour’s name reflected its global status.
Starting next season, the European Tour will become the DP World Tour, with 47 tournaments in 27 different countries and a total prize fund topping $200million for the first time.
And Torrance, who was around when the Tour first formed in 1972, looks back with fond memories, and forward to an exciting future.
“Well, considering I was on it when it started in 1972, and I was on it for 46 years, it was quite extraordinary,” he added.
“But I think it’s an incredible move by the European Tour, Keith Pelley and the staff there. We’ve been a world tour for a while without being called a world tour.
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“This is the start of a new era. It will change the face of it. In a year, two, three, all of these great places will be hosting golf and it will create a lot of opportunities for players who may not have had them. It’s fantastic.”
He added: “It’s given me a life and I couldn’t have wished for more. The European Tour was my home and my life. I’ve made some great friendships, great memories, Ryder Cups, winning tournaments. My greatest memory would be captaining the Ryder Cup, it was just magnificent.”
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