Dick Chapman

Richard Davol Chapman (March 23, 1911 November 15, 1978) was an American amateur golfer. Time magazine crowned Chapman "the Ben Hogan of amateur golf".[1]

Dick Chapman
Personal information
Full nameRichard Davol Chapman
Born(1911-03-23)March 23, 1911
Greenwich, Connecticut
DiedNovember 15, 1978(1978-11-15) (aged 67)
Rancho Santa Fe, California
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight168 lb (76 kg; 12.0 st)
Nationality United States
Career
StatusAmateur
Best results in major championships
(wins: 2)
Masters Tournament11th: 1954
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenT21: 1954
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 1961
U.S. AmateurWon: 1940
British AmateurWon: 1951

Chapman was born in Greenwich, Connecticut.[2] He was the 1940 U.S. Amateur golf champion. He was a member of Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, which was the site of his first major triumph. He remains one of only three players to have won a USGA title on their home course. He holds a place in the Masters Tournament record book for the most appearances (19) as an amateur, a distinction he shares with Charles Coe.

Although Chapman was quite the international player, winning the 1951 British Amateur, he also won state amateur championships in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and the Carolinas. He also won the prestigious North and South Amateur. At the 1958 U.S. Amateur, Chapman and his son, Dixie, both qualified, giving a rare father-and-son appearance.

Chapman's career was put on hold for World War II, where he served as a major in the U.S. Army Air Corps. After the war, Chapman picked up where he left off, with a string of victories in the British, French, Canadian, and Italian amateurs. Chapman is one of only two players (the other is Harvie Ward) who has won the U.S., British, and Canadian Amateur Championships.

"Blessed with a strong competitive spirit and an inquiring mind into the technicalities of the swing," reads the entry on Chapman in Who's Who in Golf. "Chapman not only played the game but wrote about it and worked at its many phases."[2]

In the 1950s, Chapman collaborated with the USGA on a handicap format for foursomes play called the Chapman System,[2] also known as Pinehurst or American Foursomes. The system worked as follows: two golfers on the same team each tee off, then play the other's ball. From there, they select the ball with which to complete the hole and continue as in foursomes.

Chapman played on the winning Walker Cup teams in 1947, 1951, and 1953.

Chapman's final success came in 1967 with a victory in the International Senior Amateur. A stroke in the early 1970s hampered his career, and he died in Rancho Santa Fe, California in 1978.

Chapman was inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame in 2001.[3]

Amateur wins (16)

this list is probably incomplete

Major championships

Amateur wins (2)

YearChampionshipWinning ScoreRunner-up
1940U.S. Amateur11 & 9 W. B. McCullough Jr.
1951British Amateur5 & 4 Charles Coe

Results timeline

Tournament 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
Masters Tournament T37
U.S. Open WD T50
British Open
U.S. Amateur R256 SF R16
British Amateur R16 R256 QF QF
Tournament 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
Masters Tournament T19 LA NT NT NT T41 T14 T40 LA 50
U.S. Open T36 T49 NT NT NT NT CUT
British Open NT NT NT NT NT NT
U.S. Amateur 1 M R64 NT NT NT NT R16 R16 R128
British Amateur NT NT NT NT NT NT 2 R16
Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Masters Tournament T35 T20 T55 37 11 T53 T65 CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT T21 CUT 54
British Open
U.S. Amateur R32 R32 R256 R64 QF R16 R64
British Amateur 2 1 R32
Tournament 1960 1961 1962
Masters Tournament DQ CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT
British Open CUT
U.S. Amateur R64 R32
British Amateur

Note: Chapman never played in the PGA Championship.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

M = Medalist
LA = Low Amateur
NT = No tournament
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Source for The Masters: www.masters.com
Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur: USGA Championship Database
Sources for British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 24, 1935, pg. 22., The Glasgow Herald, May 26, 1936, pg. 20., The Glasgow Herald, May 29, 1937, pg. 21., The Glasgow Herald, May 27, 1939, pg. 3., The Glasgow Herald, May 28, 1948, pg. 6., The Glasgow Herald, May 30, 1952, pg. 2., www.opengolf.com
Source: Past Champions at Winged Foot Golf Club

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

References

  1. "Milestones". Time. November 27, 1978. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
  2. Elliott, Len; Kelly, Barbara (1976). Who's Who in Golf. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House. pp. 35–6. ISBN 0-87000-225-2.
  3. Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame Members Archived 2008-12-27 at the Wayback Machine
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