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Gordon J. Brand
Personal information
Full name Gordon John Brand
Nickname Brandy
Born (1955-08-06)6 August 1955
Cambridge, England
Died 11 August 2020(2020-08-11) (aged 65)
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Nationality  England
Spouse
Lyn Ghent
(m. 1979)
Children 2
Career
Turned professional 1976
Former tour(s) European Tour
European Senior Tour
Professional wins 14
Number of wins by tour
European Tour 1
European Seniors Tour 5
Other 8
Best results in Major Championships
The Masters Tournament DNP
U.S. Open CUT: 1989
The Open Championship 2nd: 1986
PGA Championship DNP

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

Career

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 played a record-equalling six hole playoff, with Gordon J. Brand 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.

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

Gordon J. Brand should not be confused with his Scottish contemporary Gordon Brand Jnr.

Professional wins (14)

European Tour wins (1)

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 England Kevin Dickens

Safari Circuit wins (7)

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 England Martin Poxon
2 27 Feb 1983 Nigerian Open −9 (71-69-70-65=275) 4 strokes England Gary Cullen
3 16 Feb 1986 Nigerian Open (2) −12 (70-67-65-70=272) 8 strokes England Malcolm MacKenzie
4 23 Feb 1986 Ivory Coast Open (2) −15 (71-67-66-69=273) 2 strokes Scotland Brian Marchbank
5 22 Feb 1987 Zimbabwe Open −11 (74-65-69-69=277) Playoff England Andrew Murray
6 7 Feb 1988 Ivory Coast Open (3) −13 (68-71-67-69=275) 2 strokes England Richard Fish
7 1990 Zambia Open −8 (284) 4 strokes England Philip Golding, Scotland Craig Maltman

Other wins (1)

  • 1988 Leeds Cup

European Senior Tour wins (5)

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 England Carl Mason, Scotland Sam Torrance
2 11 Nov 2006 Arcapita Seniors Tour Championship −5 (73-72-66=211) Playoff Argentina Adan Sowa
3 2 Mar 2007 DGM Barbados Open −8 (72-70-66=208) 1 stroke United States Doug Johnson
4 24 Aug 2008 De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship +4 (72-77-68-75=292) Playoff Scotland Gordon Brand Jnr
5 31 Aug 2008 Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters −9 (68-69-70=207) 2 strokes Spain Juan Quirós

European Senior Tour playoff record (2–0)

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

Results in major championships

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

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

  • Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1983
  • World Cup (representing England): 1983
  • Dunhill Cup (representing England): 1986, 1987 (winners)
  • Nissan Cup (representing Europe): 1986
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