Brian George Charles Huggett, (born 18 November 1936) is a Welsh

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. He won sixteen events on the European circuit, including two after the formal start of the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...

in 1972. In 1968 he won the

Harry Vardon Trophy The Harry Vardon Trophy is awarded by the European Tour. Since 2009 it has been awarded to the winner of the Race to Dubai. Before then it was awarded to the winner of the "Order of Merit". From 1975 to 2008 the Order of Merit was based on prize mo ...

for leading the Order of Merit. He played in the

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

six times and was a non-playing captain. He also won 10 times on the

European Seniors Tour The Legends Tour is the current branding of the European Senior Tour, a professional tour for male golfers aged 50 and over, run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was branded as the Staysure Tour for the 2018 and 2019 seasons after UK-based insur ...

between 1992 and 2000, including the 1998 Senior British Open.

Early life

Huggett born in

Porthcawl Porthcawl (, ) is a town and community on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, west of the capital city, Cardiff and southeast of Swansea. Historically part of Glamorgan and situated on a low limestone headland on the So ...

, Wales, the son of George Huggett, who was the professional at

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club Royal Porthcawl Golf Club is a golf club in Wales in the United Kingdom, located north of Porthcawl and bordering the Bristol Channel. The club has hosted many prestigious tournaments including The Amateur Championship on six occasions, the Wal ...

. He had a younger brother Geoff who also became a professional golfer. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, George was the professional at Neath Golf Club before moving to Redhill and Reigate Golf Club, in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, in 1950.

Professional career

Huggett turned professional in 1951, becoming an assistant to his father at Redhill and Reigate, but it wasn't until 1962 that he won his first important individual event, the Dutch Open. He had been runner-up the previous year. Earlier in 1962, he had finished tied for third in the

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

, albeit a full 13 shots behind runaway winner

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

. Huggett had two more wins in 1963, the

Cox Moore Tournament The Cox Moore Tournament was a professional golf tournament. The event was played in 1961, 1963 and 1964 and was sponsored by Long Eaton Long Eaton is a town in the Erewash district of Derbyshire, England, just north of the River Trent, abou ...

and the German Open. He qualified for the

1963 Ryder Cup The 15th Ryder Cup Matches were held October 11–13, 1963 at the Atlanta Athletic Club, at the site now known as East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. The United States team won the competition by a score of 23 to 9 points. The U.S. did n ...

team and, although the United States won 23 to 9, Huggett was the leading British scorer, with 2 wins and a half. After his successes in 1962 and 1963, Huggett struggled for success from 1964 to 1966, a period that coincided with the introduction of the bigger ball in many tournaments. During this period he was, however, joint runner-up in the

1965 Open Championship The 1965 Open Championship was the 94th Open Championship, played 7–9 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Peter Thomson won his fifth Claret Jug, two strokes ahead of runners-up Brian Huggett and Christy O'Connor Snr. Thom ...

Royal Birkdale Royal Birkdale Golf Club is a golf course in the United Kingdom in North West England, located in Southport, Merseyside. It is one of the clubs in the rotation for both the Open Championship and Women's British Open and has hosted the Open Champ ...

, an event played with the smaller ball. He finished two shots behind Australia's

Peter Thomson Peter Thomson may refer to: * Peter Thomson (golfer) (1929–2018), Australian golfer * Peter Thomson (diplomat) (born 1948), Fiji's Permanent Representative to the United Nations * Peter Thomson (footballer) (born 1977), English footballer * Peter ...

. Huggett returned to form in 1967, winning the

PGA Close Championship The BMW PGA Championship is an annual men's professional golf tournament on the European Tour. It was founded in 1955 by the Professional Golfers' Association, and originally called the British PGA Championship. History The BMW PGA Championship ...

and the

Martini International The Martini International was a men's professional golf tournament that was held from 1961 to 1983. It was hosted by several different golf clubs in England, Scotland and Wales. It was part of the British PGA tournament circuit, which evolved into ...

in successive weeks, although he tied the Martini International with Malcolm Gregson. From 1968 to 1970 he was regular winner. In 1968, he won the

for leading the Order of Merit and played in the

Piccadilly World Match Play Championship The Volvo World Match Play Championship was an annual match play men's professional golf tournament which was staged from 1964 to 2014. The World Match Play Championship was a limited field event, originally contested by just eight players before ...

, losing to

at the 36th hole. In 1970, Huggett was ranked 10th in the world in

McCormack's World Golf Rankings The McCormack rankings were unofficial world golf rankings published in Mark McCormack's ''World of Professional Golf Annual'' from 1968 to 1985, and were a forerunner of the current Official World Golf Ranking. Unlike their replacement they were ...

, the forerunner of the modern

Official World Golf Ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

. The rankings were based on a 3-year period and his high ranking reflected these tournament wins. From 1971, his wins became less frequent. He was joint winner of the 1971

Daks Tournament The Daks Tournament was an important professional golf tournament held in England from 1950 to 1971 and was generally held in early June. 17 of the 22 events were held at the Wentworth Club. Neil Coles enjoyed considerable success in the event wi ...

with

Neil Coles Neil Chapman Coles, MBE (born 26 September 1934) is an English professional golfer. Coles had a successful career in European golf, winning 29 important tournaments between 1956 and 1982. After reaching 50, he won a further 14 important Seniors ...

and won twice on the

, in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

and

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

. He was the third-highest money winner in 1972, the first season of the European Tour. Huggett played six times for Great Britain and Ireland in the

(1963, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973 and 1975) and had a 9–10–6 win–loss–half record, despite never being on a winning team. He is remembered for an incident in the

1969 Ryder Cup The 18th Ryder Cup Matches were held 18–20 September 1969 at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. The competition ended in a tie at 16 points each, when America's Jack Nicklaus conceded a missable three-foot (0.9 m) putt to Bri ...

, a match that was tied at 16 points each. Playing the 18th hole in the last-but-one match, he holed a putt to halve his match with

Billy Casper William Earl Casper Jr. (June 24, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. In his youth, Casper started as a caddie a ...

. Just before making his putt he had heard a loud roar from the 17th green, where

Tony Jacklin Anthony Jacklin CBE (born 7 July 1944) is a retired English golfer. He was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, the 1969 Open Championship and the 1970 U.S. Open. He was also Ryder Cup captain ...

was playing

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

. Believing that Jacklin had beaten Nicklaus he thought that his putt had won the Ryder Cup. Only after leaving the green did he find out the Jacklin/Nicklaus match was still being played. Huggett was also Great Britain & Ireland's non-playing captain in 1977 and represented Wales nine times in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

between 1963 and 1979. He played in the

19 successive times between 1961 and 1979. Huggett joined the

when it debuted in 1992 and, despite being 55 when the tour started, won 10 times on the tour between 1992 and 2000, including the 1993 PGA Seniors Championship and the 1998 Senior British Open. He finished second on the European Seniors Tour Order of Merit in 1993, 1994 and 1998. Huggett has also been a golf-course designer. He was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

1978 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1978 were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate t ...

for services to golf,UK list: and in 2006 was inducted into the

Welsh Sports Hall of Fame The Welsh Sports Hall of Fame (WSHOF) is a charitable organisation created to commemorate the sporting achievements and preserve the artefacts of Welsh athletes. It was established in 1980 from the memorabilia collection of Welsh radio commentato ...

Professional wins (34)

European Tour wins (2)

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

Great Britain and Ireland wins (11)

Continental Europe wins (3)

Other wins (8)

*1957

Sunningdale Foursomes The Sunningdale Foursomes is an open foursomes golf tournament contested at the Sunningdale Golf Club, Berkshire in March. It was first contested in 1934 and has been held annually since, except between 1940 and 1947. The event is open to all go ...

(with Ross Whitehead) *1961

Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament The Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament was a pro-am golf tournament played at the Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland. The event was held annually from 1953 to 1966. From 1953 to 1957 it was called the Gleneagles-Saxone Foursom ...

(with

Martin Christmas Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aust ...

) *1965 Smart Weston Tournament,

(with

Michael Burgess Michael Burgess may refer to: * Michael Burgess (coroner) (born 1946), Coroner of the Queen's Household since 2002 * Michael Burgess (cricketer) (born 1994), English cricketer * Michael C. Burgess (born 1950), US congressman from Texas, obstetricia ...

) *1968 Shell Winter Tournament *1969

Turnberry-B.O.A.C. Foursomes Tournament The Turnberry-B.O.A.C. Foursomes Tournament was a pro-am golf tournament played at Turnberry, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The event was held in 1969 and 1970. It had a similar format to the Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament which had finished ...

(with

Colin Cowdrey Michael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, (24 December 19324 December 2000) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Oxford University (1952–1954), Kent County Cricket Club (1950–1976) and England (1954–1975). Univers ...

) *1972

Sumrie Better-Ball The Sumrie Better-Ball was a professional golf tournament played from 1969 to 1978. It was a 72-hole better-ball stroke-play event. It was played at Pannal in 1969 and 1970 and then at Blairgowrie in 1972 and 1973. From 1974 it was called the Sum ...

(with Malcolm Gregson) *1978

Welsh Professional Championship The Welsh Professional Championship was a professional snooker tournament which was open only for Welsh players. It was the first of the four home countries to revive its national professional championship on a regular basis. History The cha ...

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

European Senior Tour wins (10)

European Senior Tour playoff record (6–1)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1973, 1974 and 1978 Open Championships)
"T" indicates a tie for a place
''Note: Huggett never played in the U.S. Open or

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

.''

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

¹Defeated Polland with a par at the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.

Team appearances

Professional *

(representing Great Britain and Ireland):

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

(non-playing captain) *

(representing Wales):

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

R.T.V. International Trophy The R.T.V. International Trophy was a professional golf tournament. In its first year, 1967, there was a professional team tournament between the four home nations at Edmondstown Golf Course, County Dublin. The next year the event became an ind ...

(representing Wales): 1967 *

Double Diamond International The Double Diamond International was a team golf tournament that was played from 1971 to 1977. It was hosted in England for the first three years, and then in Scotland. From 1974 and 1977 the event was preceded by an individual 36-hole stroke pla ...

(representing Wales): 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 (captain), 1975, 1976, 1977 (captain) *

Marlboro Nations' Cup The Philip Morris International was a professional team golf tournament, played from 1972 and 1976. The 1972 and 1973 tournaments were called the Marlboro Nations' Cup. There was no tournament in 1974 but the event was played in 1975 and 1976 under ...

(representing Wales): 1972, 1973 *Sotogrande Match/

Hennessy Cognac Cup The Hennessy Cognac Cup was a biennial team golf tournament contested from 1976 to 1984. The contests in 1976, 1978 and 1980 were between teams of professional male golfers; one team representing Great Britain and Ireland, the other team representi ...

(representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1974 (winners, captain), 1978 (winners, captain) *

Praia d'El Rey European Cup The Praia d'El Rey European Cup was an annual professional golf tournament played at Praia d'El Rey, Portugal. It was played in 1997, 1998 and 1999 between teams of men representing the European Seniors Tour and ladies representing the Ladies Europ ...

: 1998 (tie)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Huggett, Brian Welsh male golfers European Tour golfers European Senior Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe Winners of senior major golf championships Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Porthcawl Sportspeople from Bridgend County Borough People from Ross-on-Wye 1936 births Living people

Early life

Professional career

Professional wins (34)

European Tour wins (2)

Great Britain and Ireland wins (11)

Continental Europe wins (3)

Other wins (8)

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

European Senior Tour wins (10)

Results in major championships

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

Team appearances

See also

References

External links