"I just led them to the water and they drank copiously," he said after the thrilling victory over the United States at the Belfry.

But the players knew different and they now have another reason to drink a toast to their inspirational skipper after he was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours List.

"It's a tremendous honour that marks a tremendous week and a fantastic team performance," Torrance said.

Sam Torrance factfile

Age: 49 Place of birth: Largs, Scotland Career highlights: Holed winning putt at 1985 Ryder Cup; awarded MBE in 1996; captained Europe to Ryder Cup victory in 2002.

"I'm still getting letters about the match from all parts of the world and all walks of life.

"I got an idea of what it all meant when I was told that the worldwide television audience would have been over a billion.

"It would have been hellish to lose, but we didn't. It all worked out wonderfully well."

It is not the first time, of course, that the Ryder Cup has provided Torrance with a defining moment in his career.

Seventeen years ago it he holed the winning putt on the 18th green at the Belfry to re-ignite a contest in danger of becoming irrelevant in the wake of American dominance.

Not bad for a secondary school drop-out who followed his father Bob, a respected coach, into golf after a variety of jobs which included van driving and working at the local supermarket in the Scottish holiday resort of Largs where he was brought up.