Sam Torrance (born 24 August 1953) is a Scottish golfer who was one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid 1970s to the late 1990s and was the winning non-playing captain of the European Ryder Cup team in 2002.

Torrance turned professional at sixteen and joined the European Tour at seventeen. He achieved his first professional win in 1972 and his first European Tour win in 1976. He won twenty-one times on the European Tour; only fellow Scot Colin Montgomerie has accumulated more European Tour titles without winning one of golf’s four major championships. His best finish on the European Tour Order of Merit was second, which he achieved in 1984 and 1995. In total he finished in the top ten on the list ten times. In 2003 Torrance became eligible to play in senior tournaments and he picked up his first win on the European Seniors Tour in 2004. He topped the European Seniors Tour’s Order of Merit in both 2005 and 2006.

Torrance played for Europe in the Ryder Cup eight times. In 1985 he sank the winning putt which deprived the Americans of the trophy for the first time in twenty-eight years. Seventeen years later he was the non-playing captain on the European team which won the 2002 Cup at The Belfry. This made him the second European Captain to sink the winning putt and Captain a winning team at separate Ryder Cups, after Seve Ballesteros in 1987 (as a player) and 1997 (as Captain).

Torrance married English actress Suzanne Danielle in 1988. He was awarded an MBE in 1996 for services to golf and an OBE in the 2003 New Year Honours List for his captaincy of Europe’s Ryder Cup team.

European Tour wins (21)
1976 (2) Piccadilly Medal, Martini International
1981 (1) Carroll’s Irish Open
1982 (2) Benson & Hedges Spanish Open, Portuguese Open
1983 (2) Scandinavian Enterprise Open, Portuguese Open
1984 (3) Tunisian Open, Benson & Hedges International Open, Sanyo Open
1985 (1) Johnnie Walker Monte Carlo Open
1987 (1) Lancia Italian Open
1990 (1) Mercedes German Masters
1991 (1) Jersey European Airways Open
1993 (3) Kronenbourg Open, Heineken Open, Honda Open
1995 (3) Italian Open, Murphy’s Irish Open, Collingtree British Masters
1998 (1) Peugeot Open de France

Other wins (11)
1972 Radici Open (Italy), Under-25 Match Play Championship
1975 Zambian Open
1978 Scottish Professional Championship
1979 Colombian Open
1980 Australian PGA Championship, Scottish Professional Championship
1983 C* Scottish PGA Championship (Challenge Tour)
1985 Scottish Professional Championship
1991 Scottish Professional Championship
1993 Scottish Professional Championship
2006 Hassan II Golf Trophy

European Seniors Tour wins (9)
2004 (1) Travis Perkins Senior Masters
2005 (3) Irvine Whitlock Seniors Classic, De Vere PGA Seniors Championship, Bendinat London Seniors Masters
2006 (4) Sharp Italian Seniors Open, AIB Irish Seniors Open, PGA Seniors Championship, Scottish Seniors Open
2007 (1) Bendinat London Seniors Masters

Team appearances
Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1981, 1983, 1985 (winners), 1987 (winners), 1989 (tied and retained trophy), 1991, 1993, 1995 (winners), 2002 (non-playing captain of winning team)
Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Scotland): 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995 (winning team), 1999
World Cup (representing Scotland): 1976, 1978, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995
Four Tours World Championship: 1985, 1991 (winning captain)
Hennessy Cognac Cup: 1976 (winners), 1978 (winners), 1980 (winners), 1982 (winners), 1984
Double Diamond: 1973 (winners), 1976, 1977
UBS Cup: 2001, 2002, 2003