Dick D. Chapman

Background

Chapman was born in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Career

Time magazine crowned Chapman "the Ben Hogan of amateur golf". 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. Chapman"s career was put on hold for World World War II, where he served as a major in the United States. 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.

"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 United States Golf Association 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. 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. wins (16) this list is probably incomplete 1949 Canadian 1950 Massachusetts 1951 British, New England 1952 French Open 1953 Carolinas 1957 Carolinas 1958 North and South 1960 Italian Open wins (2) Results timeline.

Achievements

• This list is probably incomplete 1934 Westchester Amateur 1936 Connecticut Amateur 1938 Connecticut Amateur 1939 French Open Amateur, New York State Amateur 1940 United States. Amateur 1948 Golf Illustrated Gold Vase 1949 Canadian Amateur 1950 Massachusetts Amateur 1951 British Amateur, New England Amateur 1952 French Open Amateur 1953 Carolinas Amateur 1957 Carolinas Amateur 1958 North and South Amateur 1960 Italian Open Amateur.

Membership

He was a member of Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, which was the site of his first major triumph.