Gordon Alexander Caygill (born 24 April 1940) is an English professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

er. He had considerable early success as a young professional from 1960 to 1963 but then had a lean period, partly due to a stomach ulcer. He made a comeback in the late 1960s, winning two tournaments in early 1969, and gained a place in the 1969 Ryder Cup team.

Professional career

Caygill turned professional at an early age, becoming an assistant professional at West Bowling Golf Club near

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

. He was briefly an assistant at

Sunningdale Sunningdale is a village and a civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. It takes up the extreme south-east corner of Berkshire, England and is adjoined by green buffers including Sunningdale Golf Club and Wentworth Golf ...

, during which time he won the 1960 British Youths Open Championship at Pannal Golf Club by 7 strokes. He became an assistant at Pannal in 1961 and was chosen that year by Henry Cotton as his Rookie of the Year. In 1962 he won the British Youths Open Championship, which was again played at Pannal, for a second time, winning this time by 12 strokes. He had more success in 1963, winning the

Coombe Hill Assistants' Tournament The Coombe Hill Assistants' Tournament was a professional golf tournament for assistant professionals played from 1951 to 1964. History The Coombe Hill Club had held a 36-hole tournament for southern assistants for a few years before 1951. Howe ...

and the Rediffusion Tournament in the same week. In the 1964 Swallow-Penfold Tournament Caygill led

Peter Alliss Peter Alliss (28 February 1931 – 5 December 2020) was an English professional golfer, television presenter, commentator, author and golf course designer. Following the death of Henry Longhurst in 1978, he was regarded by many as the "Voice o ...

by 3 strokes with 5 holes to play but finished badly to drop into a tie for second place. After his early successes he did not win again on the circuit until 1969 having suffered with stomach ulcers. That year he won twice, first at the Penfold Tournament, and then again at the Martini International, where he tied with South African Graham Henning. Caygill finished 8th in the points list for the Great Britain and Ireland 1969 Ryder Cup team. The leading six were chosen automatically and Caygill was one of the remaining six selected by a committee a few days later. He only played one match, partnering

Brian Huggett Brian George Charles Huggett, (18 November 1936 − 22 September 2024) was a Welsh professional golfer. He won 16 events on the European circuit between 1962 and 1978, including two after the formal start of the European Tour in 1972. In 1968 ...

in Friday's

foursomes Foursomes, also known as alternate shot, is a pairs playing format in the sport of golf. Golfers compete in teams of two, using only one ball per team, and taking alternate shots until the hole is completed. Team members take turns in teeing off ...

. They halved their match against the American pair of

Raymond Floyd Raymond Loran Floyd (born September 4, 1942) is an American retired professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments on both the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour, including four majors and four senior majors. He was inducted into the World ...

and

Miller Barber Miller Westford Barber Jr. (March 31, 1931 – June 11, 2013) was an American professional golfer. He enjoyed significant success on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s, and a greater degree of success on the Senior PGA Tour in the 1980s. Earl ...

. He finished the season 9th in the Order of Merit. In 1970 Caygill had his only foreign win, the Lusaka Dunlop Open on the

Safari Circuit The Safari Circuit, or Safari Tour, was a small professional golf tour based in West and East Africa that ran from the 1970s through into the 1990s. From 1977, the tour was organised by the PGA European Tour and from 1991 the tournaments were incl ...

, finishing two strokes of

Craig Defoy Craig Bryan Defoy (born 27 March 1947) is a Wales, Welsh professional golfer. He finished fourth in the 1971 Open Championship. Professional career Defoy had a successful start to his tournament career, winning three age-restricted events, the G ...

. He played a limited number of events during the early years of the

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

, from 1972 to 1977. His best finish was to reach the semi-final of the 1975

Piccadilly Medal The Piccadilly Medal was a men's professional golf tournament on the British PGA tournament circuit that was played in 1962 and from 1964 to 1976. Since the circuit later evolved into the European Tour, the tournament is recognised as an official ...

. Caygill finished third in the 1974 PGA Club Professionals' Championship to qualify for the Diamondhead Cup, the forerunner of the PGA Cup. Caygill made 14 appearances 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 ...

between 1962 and 1977, making the cut six times. Caygill became the professional at Cleckheaton Golf Club in the mid-1960s, leaving in 1973 to join the Pleasington club in Lancashire. He later moved to the Crimple Valley club, near

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

and later to Branshaw. In 1981 Caygill was fined £500 and suspended by the PGA following an incident the previous October at the Wansbeck Classic, a pro-am event.

Professional wins (20)

Great Britain and Ireland wins (6)

Safari circuit wins (1)

Other wins (13)

*1961 Yorkshire Professional Championship *1963 Northern Professional Championship (incorporating the Leeds Cup) *1964 Yorkshire Professional Championship, Ryder Cup Reunion Foursomes Tournament (with

Ken Bousfield Kenneth Bousfield (2 October 1919 – 25 May 2000) was one of the leading British golfers of the immediate post-World War II period. Professional career Bousfield won a number of tournaments on the European circuit in the 1950s and 1960s, inclu ...

) *1966 Yorkshire Professional Championship,

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 Bernard Cawthray) *1967 Leeds Cup *1971 Yorkshire Open *1973 Leeds Cup, Lancashire Open *1974 Northern Professional Championship *1978 Sunningdale Foursomes (with Julia Greenhalgh), Yorkshire Professional Championship

Results in major championships

''Note: Caygill only played in The Open Championship.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place Source:

Team appearances

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

(representing Great Britain and Ireland):

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

(tie) * Diamondhead Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1974

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caygill, Alex English male golfers European Tour golfers Ryder Cup competitors for Europe 1940 births Living people