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Brian Huggett, the former Ryder Cup captain who finished second in the Open Championship, has died aged 87.
The news was met with much sadness throughout the match, with Ian Woosnam hailing his compatriot as “a Welsh legend” and current European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald saying: “no one has summed it up [the biennial match] better than Brian Huggett.
A statement released on behalf of Huggett’s family announced his death early Sunday morning after a short illness.
Born in Porthcawl, Huggett played in the Ryder Cup six times, including the famous 1969 draw at Royal Birkdale. Playing the penultimate singles 18th, Huggett holed a putt to halve with Billy Casper and was in tears, believing his contribution had won the final match.
Just before his four-footer, he had heard a huge roar from the 17th, which he assumed was Tony Jacklin beating Jack Nicklaus.
However, the celebrations were for Jacklin keeping the contest alive and 15 minutes later, Nicklaus performed one of the most famous gestures of sportsmanship by conceding a three-footer.
Huggett’s love for this match cannot be overstated. In 1973 at Muirfield – where he remained undefeated – he decided not to attend the birth of his first child, but instead teamed up with Maurice Bembridge to beat Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer 3&1.
Four years later he was non-playing captain of the Great Britain and Ireland team at Royal Lytham, the last Ryder Cup before it was expanded to include players from continental Europe.
Huggett won 16 European Tour titles, but perhaps his greatest achievements were reserved for the Open, in which he finished third in 1962 and second to Australian Peter Thomson in 1965.
Huggett was appointed MBE in 1978 and maintained links with successive Ryder Cup captains, who used him to inspire their teams. “I was vice-captain to Thomas Bjorn in Paris in 2018 and Brian was an integral part of a motivational video we released to the players on the eve of the competition,” Donald said. “Even though he spoke softly, you could see the unwavering determination in his eyes as he looked into the camera lens – I will never forget that. »
