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Gordon Alexander Caygill (born 24 April 1940) is an English professional golfer. 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.
| Alex Caygill | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Gordon Alexander Caygill | ||
| Born | 24 April 1940 Appleby-in-Westmorland, England | ||
| Sporting nationality |  England | ||
| Career | |||
| Status | Professional | ||
| Former tour(s) | European Tour | ||
| Professional wins | 20 | ||
| Best results in major championships | |||
| Masters Tournament | DNP | ||
| PGA Championship | DNP | ||
| U.S. Open | DNP | ||
| The Open Championship | T16: 1966 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Caygill turned professional at an early age, becoming an assistant professional at West Bowling Golf Club near Bradford.[1] He was briefly an assistant at Sunningdale, during which time he won the 1960 British Youths Open Championship at Pannal Golf Club by 7 strokes.[2] He became an assistant at Pannal in 1961 and was chosen that year by Henry Cotton as his Rookie of the Year.[3] 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.[4] He had more success in 1963, winning the Coombe Hill Assistants' Tournament and the Rediffusion Tournament in the same week.[5][6] In the 1964 Swallow-Penfold Tournament Caygill led Peter Alliss by 3 strokes with 5 holes to play but finished badly to drop into a tie for second place.[7]
After his early successes he did not win again on the circuit until 1969 having suffered with stomach ulcers.[8] That year he won twice, first at the Penfold Tournament,[9] and then again at the Martini International, where he tied with South African Graham Henning.[10] Caygill finished 8th in the points list for the Great Britain and Ireland 1969 Ryder Cup team.[11] The leading six were chosen automatically and Caygill was one of the remaining six selected by a committee a few days later.[12] He only played one match, partnering Brian Huggett in Friday's foursomes. They halved their match against the American pair of Raymond Floyd and Miller Barber.[13] He finished the season 9th in the Order of Merit.[14]
In 1970 Caygill had his only foreign win, the Lusaka Dunlop Open on the Safari Circuit, finishing two strokes of Craig Defoy.[15] He played a limited number of events during the early years of the European Tour, from 1972 to 1977. His best finish was to reach the semi-final of the 1975 Piccadilly Medal.[16] Caygill finished third in the 1974 PGA Club Professionals' Championship to qualify for the Diamondhead Cup, the forerunner of the PGA Cup.[17] Caygill made 14 appearances in the Open Championship between 1962 and 1977, making the cut six times.[18]
Caygill became the professional at Cleckheaton Golf Club in the mid-1960s, leaving in 1973 to join the Pleasington club in Lancashire.[19] He later moved to the Crimple Valley club, near Harrogate and later to Branshaw.[20][21] 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.[21]
Great Britain and Ireland wins (6)
| Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Aug 1960 | British Youths Open Championship | 66-71-71-71=279 | 7 strokes |  Campbell Brownlee (a) |
[2] |
| 10 Aug 1962 | British Youths Open Championship | 74-73-72-68=287 | 12 strokes | Cliff Bowman (a) |
[22] |
| 26 Sep 1963 | Coombe Hill Assistants' Tournament | 71-76-69=216 | 2 strokes | Malcolm Gregson, Tony Jacklin |
[5] |
| 29 Sep 1963 | Rediffusion Tournament | 70-68-66-67=271 | Playoff | David Snell,  Flory Van Donck |
[6] |
| 3 May 1969 | Penfold Tournament | 67-70-70-71=278 | 2 strokes |  Christy O'Connor Snr |
[9] |
| 14 Jun 1969 | Martini International | 70-66-77-69=282 | Tie |  Graham Henning |
[10] |
Safari circuit wins (1)
| Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Mar 1970 | Lusaka Dunlop Open | −7 (70-68-73-74=285) | 2 strokes |  Craig Defoy |
[15] |
Other wins (13)
- 1961 Yorkshire Professional Championship[23]
- 1963 Northern Professional Championship (incorporating the Leeds Cup)[24][25]
- 1964 Yorkshire Professional Championship,[26] Ryder Cup Reunion Foursomes Tournament (with Ken Bousfield)[27]
- 1966 Yorkshire Professional Championship,[28] Gleneagles Hotel Foursomes Tournament (with Bernard Cawthray)[29]
- 1967 Leeds Cup[30]
- 1971 Yorkshire Open[31]
- 1973 Leeds Cup,[19] Lancashire Open[32]
- 1974 Northern Professional Championship[33]
- 1978 Sunningdale Foursomes (with Julia Greenhalgh),[34] Yorkshire Professional Championship[20]
| Tournament | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | T17 | CUT | T16 | CUT | T24 | T25 |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Open Championship | T41 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T63 | CUT |
Note: Caygill only played in The Open Championship.
Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Source:[18]
- Ryder Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1969 (tie)[35]
- Diamondhead Cup (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1974[36]
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