Full name Richard D. Chapman Name Dick Chapman Status Amateur | Nationality United States Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | |
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Born March 23, 1911
Greenwich, Connecticut ( 1911-03-23 ) Died November 15, 1978(1978-11-15) (aged 67)
Rancho Santa Fe, California Weight 168 lb (76 kg; 12.0 st) | ||
Richard D. Chapman (March 23, 1911 – November 15, 1978) was an American amateur golfer. Time magazine crowned Chapman "the Ben Hogan of amateur golf".
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Chapman was born in Greenwich, Connecticut. 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."
In the 1950s, Chapman collaborated with the USGA on a handicap format for foursomes play called the Chapman System. The system worked as follows: two golfers on the same team each tee off, then play the other's ball. From there, the team would play out the best shot.
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.
Amateur wins (16)
this list is probably incomplete
Results timeline
Note: Chapman never played in PGA Championship.
M = Medalist
LA = Low Amateur
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
Source for The Masters: www.masters.com
Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur: USGA Championship Database
Source for 1935 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 24, 1935, pg. 22.
Source for 1936 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 26, 1936, pg. 20.
Source for 1937 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 29, 1937, pg. 21.
Source for 1939 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 27, 1939, pg. 3.
Source for 1948 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 28, 1948, pg. 6.
Source for 1952 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 30, 1952, pg. 2.
Source for 1961 British Open: www.opengolf.com
Source
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur