Torrance gets Ryder boost

EUROPEAN captain Sam Torrance received a timely double boost ahead of next month’s Ryder Cup before making an early exit from the BMW International Open.

Torrance completed just nine holes of his first round before pulling out with a back injury, but not before seeing Bernhard Langer and Ian Poulter at the top of the leaderboard.

Langer carded an eight under par 64 while Poulter, on standby to play at The Belfry if any of the 10 automatic qualifiers withdraws, was one shot behind alongside fellow Englishmen Robert Coles and Richard Bland.