Roger Chаpman wins the US Senior Open
Roger Chаpman joined the league of Jack Nіcklaus, Gary Player and Hаle Irwin after winning the Senior PGА Championship and US Senior Open in the same year.
Player was the first one to achieve this mark by doing it in 1987. Nicklaus joined him in 1991 while Irwin kissed the two trophies in 1998.
He posted a four-under par 66 in the final round of the US Senior Open to take a two-stroke margin victory over four players. Two months ago, he won the Senior PGA Championship with the same margin over John Cook.
Chаpman got off to a confident start and went four-under for the round through 14 holes. However, the par-four 16th hole saw him make a bogey that shortened his lead to one stroke.
Yet, he managed to recover the two-stroke lead once again with a birdie on the 17th hole. On the 195-yard hole, he made a beautiful tee shot and the ball landed just a few inches away from the hole.
"I have to say that was my best shot ever played," he said. "I wanted to prove to myself and to other people that Benton Harbor wasn't a one-off event. That was in the back of my mind".
While he walked off the 18th green, his wife, Cathy, gave him a huge hug and congratulated him for his continued success in the season.
Two months ago, she was not with him when he closed his Senior PGA Championship campaign with two bogeys in a row. She had some work to do at that time.
"She's been my rock for 26 years," he said. "It was very special that she was here".
Chapman has always called himself as a journeyman on the European Tour and is known by his first ever victory in the playoffs against Padraig Harrington after making 472 starts.
From now onwards, he will no more be remembered that way. In fact, he now has something better on his shelf to show off.
Bernhard Langer, Fred Funk, Tom Lehman and Corey Pavin finished tied for the second position.
"I guess when you read about him, you always hear journeyman or something like that," Pavin said. "But he's always been a very solid player. Sometimes, people bloom a little later".
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