Dick Chapman (March 23, 1911 – November 15, 1978) was an American amateur golfer. Time Magazine crowned Chapman “the Ben Hogan of amateur golf.”
Chapman was a native of Greenwich, Connecticut, and was the 1940 U.S. Amateur golf champion at famed Winged Foot Golf Club where, coincidentally, he was a member. He holds a rare distinction as 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, tied with Charlie 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 as well as the prestigious North and South Amateur. At the 1958 U.S. Amateur, Chapman and his son, Dixie, both qualified as one of few father-son duos to ever play in the same U.S. Amateur.
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 who has won the U.S., British, and Canadian Amateur Championships, the other being Harvie Ward.
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. The format is played very often at clubs in mixed tournament play and competitors affectionately call this format “The Divorce Open”.
Chapman played on the winning Walker Cup teams in 1947, 1951, and 1953, and finally was inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame in 2001.
