European Tour - Honorary Life Membership for Roger Chapman
The two-time Senior Major Championship winner Roger Chapman has received the Honorary Life Membership of The European Tour, courtesy of his heroics during the 2012 golf season.
George O’Grady, The European Tour’s Chief Executive, made the announcement that Chapman will become the 45th player in the history of the European Tour to receive the honorary membership.
Chapman turned professional in 1981 and started piling his trade on the Sunshine Tour and the European Tour. In 1988, he secured his first professional victory, after winning the Sunshine Tour’s Zimbabwe Open.
He then joined the league of European Tour winners in 2000, by outshining his opponents at the Brazil Rio de Janeiro 500 Years Open. The same year witnessed him adding another title to his resume, as he won the Hassan II Golf Trophy.
Thereafter, he lost control over his game and remained winless for around 12 years, until he won the 2012 US Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid.
With that win, he became the only Englishman to secure victory in the prestigious event. In addition to that, he was the first European to achieve that feat, since Jock Hutchison did the same in 1947.
In July 2012, he stunned his opponents at the US Senior Open at the Indianwood Golf and Country Club, to record his name in the history books – he became the fourth player in the history to win the Senior PGA Championship and the US Senior Open in one year.
He then capped his season by taking home the John Jacobs Trophy, after he won the Senior Tour Order of Merit title.
“This season has been an absolute dream for me, winning two Senior Majors and then Senior Tour Order of Merit, so I am extremely proud to have now also been given Honorary Life Membership of The European Tour,” he said.
“It is an honour which was totally unexpected and I am very grateful to George and everyone at the Tour for their support and for giving me this recognition. I’m very proud of my career on The European Tour, certainly for its longevity, but to win two Senior Majors and the John Jacobs Trophy in the same season really is a Cinderella story,” he added.
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