Former Ryder Cup star Gordon Brand Jnr passes away

Gordon Brand Jnr, an eight-time winner on the European Tour and a two-time Ryder Cup player, has passed away at the age of 60.

The tragic news was revealed this morning by the Staysure Tour’s Twitter account.

A minute’s silence will be observed by players contesting the

Born in Kirkcaldy, Brand Jnr followed in the footsteps of his father – club pro Gordon Brand Snr – when he turning professional in 1981 following a hugely successful amateur career.

After finishing first at European Tour Q-School the same year, he went on to pick up two titles in his rookie season: the Coral Classic at Royal Porthcawl, where he held off Greg Norman to take the spoils; and the Bob Hope British Classic. He finished seventh on the tour’s Order of Merit that year, winning the ‘Rookie of the Year’ spoils.

Five more wins followed as he added five further Order of Merit top-10s to his CV, including a best finish of fourth in 1987.

That same year, he made his Ryder Cup debut as part of the first European team to win on US soil. He memorably teamed-up with Jose Rivero to beat Ben Crenshaw and Scott Simpson in the opening match of the Friday afternoon fourball session.

He made the team again in 1989, and repeated his 3&2, Friday afternoon fourball heroics, this time in the company of Howard Clark and at the expense of Fred Couples and Lanny Wadkins.

Brand Jnr also played in 19 major championship, with a best finish of T5 in the 1992 Open Championship at Muirfield.

He joined the European Senior Tour – now Staysure Tour – when he turned 50 in 2008 and added two more wins to his name: the 2010 Matrix Jersey Classic and the 2013 WINSTONgolf Senior Open.

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