Roger Chapman wins the European Seniors Tour Order of Merit title, the John Jacobs Trophy
England’s Roger Chapman capped his remarkable 2012 season with a victory in the European Seniors Tour Order of Merit, and raised the prestigious John Jacobs Trophy in Mauritius.
Barry Lane, in the meantime, took the second position in the money list, for the second time in a row.
Chapman became the first Englishman to win the Order of Merit title, since Carl Mason did the same in 2007.
Mason earned a record €412,376 as prize money in 2007, the most by any player in one season. Chapman earnings of €356,751 in 2012 were the second highest in the history of the Seniors Tour.
The Englishman signed off his dream season by finishing tied for the 15th position at the Seniors Tour’s season-ending MCB Tour Championship, and comfortably sealed the victory in the money list.
By and large, Chapman enjoyed a great run of form in 2012, as he added a total of two senior major championship titles to his resume.
In May, he imposed a two-stroke defeat on John Cook, to take home the Senior PGA Championship title.
Around two months later, he became the first English player to raise the US Senior Open trophy, after defeating Fred Funk, Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman and Corey Pavin with a two-stroke margin.
In addition to that, he also became the fourth player in the history of the game to win both the titles in the same season.
Gary Player (1987), Jack Nicklaus (1991) and Hale Irwin (1998) were the other three players to achieve that feat.
“It’s a proud moment for me to finally get my hands on the John Jacobs Trophy,” Chapman said. “I actually had lessons at the John Jacobs School when I was 12 years old so to win the trophy bearing his name is very special for me”.
He added, “To win it here in Mauritius is also special. My long term mentor George Will died while I was playing here two years ago so there are always mixed emotions for me coming back. ...I’m very proud to have achieved what I have done this year. It means a lot to me to be European Senior Tour Number One”.
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