Gordon John Brand (6 August 1955 – 11 August 2020) was an English professional golfer.

Gordon J. Brand
Personal information
Full nameGordon John Brand
NicknameBrandy
Born(1955-08-06)6 August 1955
Cambridge, England
Died11 August 2020(2020-08-11) (aged 65)
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Sporting nationality England
Spouse
Lyn Ghent
(m. 1979)
Children2
Career
Turned professional1976
Former tour(s)European Tour
European Senior Tour
Professional wins14
Number of wins by tour
European Tour1
European Senior Tour5
Other8
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenCUT: 1989
The Open Championship2nd: 1986

Career

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Brand turned professional in 1976 and enjoyed full playing privileges on the European Tour for 20 years. During his time on tour, he finished inside the top 30 on the Order of Merit seven times and inside the top 100 16 times. His highest ranking came in 1986, fifth place, in which year he finished as runner-up to Greg Norman in The Open Championship at Turnberry. Brand is also remembered for recording a hole in one at the 16th hole during the 1981 Open Championship at Royal St George's Golf Club. In that year he won the Tooting Bec Cup after posting a round of 65. Brand repeated this feat again in 1986 on his way to finishing runner-up.

Brand won his sole European Tour event in 1989, taking the Belgian Open at Royal Waterloo Golf Club, Brussels, by four shots. He was also very successful in Africa with seven tournament victories on the continent, notably winning the Open de Côte d'Ivoire no fewer than three times. He was a winner of the Safari Circuit order of merit on three occasions.

Brand played in the 1983 Ryder Cup, represented England at the World Cup and was part of the 1986 and winning 1987 Dunhill Cup teams. Brand's win against Sam Torrance helped, alongside Nick Faldo and Howard Clark beat Scotland on the final day to secure the title.

After a successful golfing career, Brand went on to work for the European Tour as a tournament referee before quitting in 2005 to play on the European Senior Tour. Brand had five victories on the European Senior Tour to his name, the most memorable coming at the 2008 PGA Seniors Championship. After a 72-hole score of 4-over par, Brand and Gordon Brand Jnr of Scotland (no relation) played a record-equalling six hole playoff, with Brand (the Englishman) winning the sixth extra hole with a par putt on the par 3 17th after playing the 18th hole five times.

After his win, Brand credited his wife Lyn, a former Ladies European Tour player for a putting tip suggested to him before the final round. A week later, Brand also won the Travis Perkins Senior Masters at Woburn Golf Club. With that win, Brand finished a senior career-best second on the Order of Merit behind former Masters champion Ian Woosnam. After finishing second on the Order of Merit in 2008, Brand struggled for form finishing 21st and 15th in the 2009 and 2010 Order of Merits respectively, posting only five top 10 finishes.

Death

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Brand died on 11 August 2020 at the age of 65, following a short illness.[1]

Note

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Gordon J. Brand should not be confused with his Scottish contemporary Gordon Brand Jnr to whom he was not related.

Professional wins (14)

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European Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 14 May 1989 Volvo Belgian Open −11 (67-69-68-69=273) 4 strokes   Kevin Dickens

Safari Circuit wins (7)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 1 Mar 1981 Ivory Coast Open −17 (68-74-65-64=271) Playoff   Martin Poxon
2 27 Feb 1983 Nigerian Open −9 (71-69-70-65=275) 4 strokes   Gary Cullen
3 16 Feb 1986 Nigerian Open (2) −12 (70-67-65-70=272) 8 strokes   Malcolm MacKenzie
4 23 Feb 1986 Ivory Coast Open (2) −15 (71-67-66-69=273) 2 strokes   Brian Marchbank
5 22 Feb 1987 Zimbabwe Open −11 (74-65-69-69=277) Playoff   Andrew Murray
6 7 Feb 1988 Ivory Coast Open (3) −13 (68-71-67-69=275) 2 strokes   Richard Fish
7 21 Jan 1990 Zambia Open −8 (70-74-68-72=284) 4 strokes   Philip Golding,   Craig Maltman

Other wins (1)

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European Seniors Tour wins (5)

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Legend
Tour Championships (1)
Other European Seniors Tour (4)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 15 Oct 2006 OKI Castellón Open de España Senior −13 (65-66-72=203) 2 strokes   Carl Mason,   Sam Torrance
2 11 Nov 2006 Arcapita Seniors Tour Championship −5 (73-72-66=211) Playoff   Adan Sowa
3 2 Mar 2007 DGM Barbados Open −8 (72-70-66=208) 1 stroke   Doug Johnson
4 24 Aug 2008 De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship +4 (72-77-68-75=292) Playoff   Gordon Brand Jnr
5 31 Aug 2008 Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters −9 (68-69-70=207) 2 strokes   Juan Quirós

European Seniors Tour playoff record (2–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2006 Arcapita Seniors Tour Championship   Adan Sowa Won with par on third extra hole
2 2008 De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship   Gordon Brand Jnr Won with par on sixth extra hole

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship CUT T19 CUT CUT CUT T25 2 T40 T36 CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1979, 1982, 1983 and 1984 Open Championships)
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Note: Brand never played in the Masters Tournament or the PGA Championship.

Results in senior major championships

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Results not in chronological order before 2016.

Tournament 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Senior PGA Championship CUT T77 CUT CUT
Senior British Open Championship T10 T10 CUT T26 T50 69 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Senior Open CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Note: Brand never played in The Tradition or the Senior Players Championship.

Team appearances

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Gordon J Brand 1955 - 2020". PGA European Tour. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
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