Chick Evans | |
---|---|
— Golfer — | |
Evans (right) and Robert A. Gardner,
the finalists at the 1916 U.S. Amateur |
|
Personal information | |
Full name | Charles E. Evans, Jr. |
Nickname | Chick |
Born |
Indianapolis, Indiana |
July 18, 1890
Died | November 6, 1979 Chicago, Illinois |
(aged 89)
Height | 5 ft 10.5 in (1.79 m) |
Weight | 158 lb (72 kg; 11.3 st) |
Nationality | United States |
Spouse | Esther Evans (m. 1927–67, her death) |
Children | none |
Career | |
Status | Amateur |
Professional wins | 3 |
Best results in major championships (wins: 3) |
|
Masters Tournament | 51st: 1940 |
U.S. Open | Won: 1916 |
The Open Championship | T49: 1911 |
PGA Championship | DNP |
U.S. Amateur | Won: 1916, 1920 |
British Amateur | T9: 1911 |
Achievements and awards | |
World Golf Hall of Fame | 1975 (member page) |
Bob Jones Award | 1960 |
Charles E. "Chick" Evans, Jr. (July 18, 1890 – November 6, 1979) was an American amateur golfer of the 1910s and 1920s. Evans, who won the 1910 Western Open, became the first amateur to win both the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in one year, a feat he achieved in 1916. Evans won the U.S. Amateur again in 1920, and was runner-up three times. Selected to the Walker Cup team in 1922, 1924, and 1928, he competed in a record 50 consecutive U.S. Amateurs in his long career. Evans achieved all of this while carrying only seven hickory-shafted clubs.
In addition to his golf career, Evans is known for founding the Evans Scholars Foundation, which provides a college scholarship for qualified caddies.
In 1960, Evans was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. He is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Evans' family moved to Chicago when he was eight years old, and he grew up on the north side of the city. At the age of eight, he was first exposed to golf as a caddie at a Chicago course, the Edgewater Golf Club. He attended secondary school at the Evanston Academy, and won the 1907 and 1908 Western Interscholastic tournaments. He led in the founding of the Western Interscholastic Golf Association (WIGA), and led Evanston Academy to the 1908 WIGA team championship.
From these beginnings, Evans became one of the most acclaimed American amateur golfers of his time. The accomplishment that gave him the most contemporary publicity came in 1916, when he won both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open in the same year. Evans was the first person to accomplish this task, and only Bobby Jones has done it since.