Charles Henry "Chip" Beck (born September 12, 1956) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. He has four victories on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

and twenty runner-up finishes. He spent 40 weeks in the top 10 of the

Official World Golf Rankings The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolling ...

between 1988 and 1989 and was the second player to shoot a 59 on the PGA Tour.

Early life and amateur career

Beck was born in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-Ameri ...

. He was a three-time

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

Professional career

Beck's early professional career was very strong. He finished joint runner-up at the 1986 U.S. Open and 1989 U.S. Open. Beck was a three-time

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

participant during this era, playing in the 1989 Ryder Cup,

1991 Ryder Cup The 29th Ryder Cup Matches were held September 27–29, 1991, on The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, southwest of Charleston. The United States team won the competition by 14 to 13 points, winning ...

, and 1993 Ryder Cup. He won the Vardon Trophy in 1988. He shot a round of 59 in the third round of the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational at the par-72 Sunrise Golf Club in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. It was the second 59 in the history of the

. Beck's round included 5 pars and 13 birdies. This included a three-foot birdie on the 18th hole. Beck finished tied for third in the tournament. Beck was also the solo runner-up at the 1993 Masters, four behind champion

Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer (; born 27 August 1957) is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, he became the sport's first number one ranked playe ...

. His later career was very weak. He missed 46 consecutive PGA Tour cuts from 1997 to 1998 and eventually left the PGA Tour to become an insurance salesman. Beck shot a

hole-in-one In golf, a hole in one or hole-in-one (also known as an ace, mostly in American English) occurs when a ball hit from a tee to start a hole finishes in the cup. Holes-in-one most commonly occur on par 3 holes, the shortest distance holes on a sta ...

(also a double eagle) at the par-4 9th hole in the first round of the 2003 Omaha Classic, a

Nationwide Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. ...

event. It was the first hole-in-one in the history of the developmental tour and second recorded in the history of the

umbrella combined. In 2006, Beck became eligible for the

Champions Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, open to golfers age 50 and over, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, f ...

and enjoyed newfound success. In 2015, he stepped away from competition to become an ambassador at Grey Oaks Country Club in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,115, down from 19,539 at the 2010 census. Naples is a principal city of the Collier County, Florida, Naples–Marc ...

Personal life

Beck currently resides in

Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and t ...

Professional wins (5)

PGA Tour wins (4)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

Japan Senior Tour wins (1)

*2007 Kinojyo Senior Open

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half way cut (3rd round cut in 1982 Open Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 11 (1987 PGA – 1990 U.S. Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1989 Masters – 1989 U.S. Open)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances

Professional * Dunhill Cup:

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

Four Tours World Championship The Four Tours World Championship was an annual professional golf tournament that was played from 1985 to 1991. It was played between teams representing the four main professional tours: the American PGA Tour, the PGA European Tour, the PGA Tour o ...

: 1988 (winners), 1989 (winners) *

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

(tie),

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

(winners),

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

(winners)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Chip American male golfers Georgia Bulldogs men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from North Carolina Sportspeople from Fayetteville, North Carolina 1956 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen