Brand goes for record

GORDON J Brand, the English former Ryder Cup player, tees up in the €325,000 Gloria Classic with his sights firmly set on blazing a trail into the European Seniors Tour record books.

Brand is in the middle of a remarkable run of form that has seen him win three of the last four events and another success at Gloria Golf Resort in Belek, Turkey, this week would put him alongside Tommy Horton as the only other golfer to have triumphed in three consecutive European Seniors Tour tournaments.

Horton, the most successful player in the history of the Tour, won the final three events of the 1997 season and now, a decade later, Brand is threatening to match that achievement after capturing the last tournament of 2006 — the Arcapita Seniors Tour Championship — and the first one of 2007 — the DGM Barbados Open.

Standing in Brand’s way is a strong field that includes 29 of the leading 30 players on the 2006 Order of Merit.