Gordon J Brand was a member of the iconic 1983 Ryder Cup side where Europe lost by a single point at PGA National Golf Club in Florida.
The English golfer, whose career spanned over four decades, died aged 65 following a short illness.
Brand was an accomplished sportsman making 450 appearances on the European Tour.
His sole victory coming at the 1989 Belgian Open after a six-shot win, while another career highlight saw him finish runner-up to Greg Norman in the 1986 Open Championship.
In an era where Europeans dominated the golfing landscape, he was always a mainstay of the supporting cast.
Former Ryder Cup captain and tournament committee chairman Mark James, who played with Brand on both the European Tour and Senior Tour, said: “He was a great source of entertainment; he had a wonderful sense of humour and was always good fun – I never saw a bad side of him at all. He was very highly respected.
“He’s been a permanent fixture in the lives of so many Tour players from the late 1970s and the Senior Tour of the 2010s, he’s going to missed by an awful lot of people.
“He had a great record as a player, but there were so many facets to his character that made him appeal to so many.”
After his Ryder Cup exploits he managed a career-high – fifth on the European Tour Order of Merit in 1986.
Then going on to join the Senior Tour in 2005, success manifested early as he took a two-shot win at the 2006 OKI Castellón Open de España Senior.
It marked the first of five victories on the over-50s circuit, with further success later that season at the Arcapita Seniors Tour Championship.
Brand also won the DGM Barbados Open the following year and in 2008 claimed two titles in as many weeks at the PGA Seniors Championship and Travis Perkins Masters, making 196 appearances during his Senior Tour career.
