Brian Huggett, who has died aged 87, was one of the leading golfers in Europe during the 1960s and 70s, and one of the best ever to come out of Wales. Although he won 16 big tournaments around Europe, he is perhaps best remembered as a Ryder Cup stalwart who was selected six times for Great Britain and Ireland between 1963 and 1975, and as non-playing captain in 1977.
The most memorable of those appearances came in 1969 on the final day at Royal Birkdale, when, in the second-to-last match, against his American opponent Billy Casper, Huggett had a testing five-foot putt on the 18th green to halve his match. Just before he began to settle down to it, a massive roar erupted on the hole behind him, which he took to mean that Tony Jacklin had just won his game against Jack Nicklaus, squaring-up the overall contest. Therefore the entire Ryder Cup appeared to be resting on Huggett’s putt, which if sunk would deliver a rare victory for the home team.
