EUROPE'S vice-captain Sam Torrance has backed his rookies to thrive in the Ryder Cup pressure pot.
Victor Dubuisson, Jamie Donaldson and Scotland's Stephen Gallacher will make their debuts this week at Gleneagles. But the 2002 winning captain said: "Rookies is the wrong word for them. 'First-time Ryder Cupper' would be better.
"They are very competent golfers and I have no fears for them. I think they will revel in the atmosphere and pressure of the event."
Torrance believes home advantage could be crucial.
The Scot said: "In 2012 Davis Love set up Medinah without rough to suit the USA's long hitters. In 2002 I narrowed fairways at The Belfry after 280 yards, my team's optimum distance.
"I put bunkers in doglegs, cut the rough around the greens and made the greens slower. That is what home advantage means."
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