Golden Oldie Sam Torrance today expressed his relief that his injury “nightmare” is finally over.

And the Scottish golfing great revealed how being the fall guy led to a successful diagnosis of a worrying niggle that had concerned him for six months.

Torrance, who is competing in this week’s Prostate Cancer UK Scottish Senior Open at Archerfield Links, is recovering from a trapped nerve in his hip and groin area but it took another painful turn of events for the former Ryder Cup skipper to get to the root of the problem.

Torrance, 62, explained: “It’s been a nightmare. It only affects me when I’m standing up. If I’m standing with you at the bar having a drink, I’ll have to sit down after three or four minutes as the leg just gives way. It was pretty sinister to be honest. To not get to the bottom of it was very worrying. Was it muscular? Was it MS? I just didn’t know.

“It was extraordinary how we found out. My leg gave way and I fell, right on the back of my head. So I went to see a neurologist and he asked me how it happened. I said my ‘leg gave way but that’s another story’ and he said ‘what?’ He told me he could check that too. He gave me this electrical test and discovered the trapped nerve. So I’ve had to bash my head to fix my leg. I still had to have an MRI scan on my head. It was a bad one but it’s fine.

“I’ll be alright for next year with a bit of treatment. I’m still feeling it, but it’s a weight of my mind now that I know what it is. I feel a hell of a lot better. The future is bright now.”

Torrance, who won the Scottish Senior Open back in 2006 and has was 11 titles on the over-50s circuit, will compete alongside his son, Daniel, in this week’s Pro-Am affair.

The European Senior Tour is struggling to attract sponsorship with the regular schedule consisting of just nine events.

And Torrance is hoping this new Dunhill Links-style revamp of the Scottish showpiece could be the way to attract new backers.

He added: “Something needs to happen to reinvigorate the circuit and this is maybe it. I don’t know why sponsors don’t seem to like us. We provide a really good package and we look after the sponsors by having dinners with them, lessons whatever but obviously it isn’t enough. Maybe the new format will change things.”