Chick Evans - History

History

Evans was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and grew up on the north side of Chicago. At the age of eight, Evans was first exposed to golf by being a caddie at a Chicago course, the Edgewater Golf Club. From these beginnings, Evans became one of the most acclaimed American amateur golfers of his time, eventually earning induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1975. The accomplishment that gave him the most contemporary publicity came in 1916, when Evans won both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open in the same year. He was the first person to accomplish this task, and only Bobby Jones has done it since. Evans also won the Western Open in 1910, the only amateur to do so until Scott Verplank in 1985.

Into the 1960s, Evans was an active participant in senior tournaments. Even at his age, he was competing in the U.S. Amateur events, and eventually set a record of completing 50 of these championships. Evans played his last rounds of competitive golf in 1967. After his retirement, he continued to attend events as a spectator and converse with the fans and players. He died in 1979, aged 89.