Bubba Chapman led dominant era for Chaminade: All-Metro boys golfer of the year

After being a strong contributor to Chaminade’s 2021 Class 5 state championship golf team as a freshman, Chapman missed the state cut by two strokes at the district qualifying round his sophomore season.

“It stung for a while,” said Chapman, now a recent Chaminade graduate. “Into that summer, I just remember feeling kind of a lack of confidence in myself in being able to play good golf when it matters. It was definitely disappointing and definitely motivating. That summer following that round, I really got to work and put a lot into my game.”

That work turned into outstanding results.

Chapman finished in the top spot at each of his last two Class 5 state tourneys (a tie his junior year and an outright title this spring) and helped the Red Devils claim team championships each season.

It culminated in a state tourney to remember a few weeks ago at Meadow Lake Acres Country Club in New Bloomfield when Chapman fired a sizzling two-day total of 7-under-par 137 to win the state championship by one stroke, which was also the margin by which Chaminade edged Marquette for the team title.

Those efforts helped Chapman earn Post-Dispatch All-Metro boys golfer of the year honors for this season.

“I had a pretty good season,” he said. “I was consistently kind of hanging around even par. I got off to a pretty bad start at the (season-opening) Bantle Tournament with a high round in the 70s, but I think after that everything was pretty consistent. I had a lot of solid rounds and managed my game well when I needed to, and then I played my best golf when it was most important.”

Chapman’s last two district tournaments went better than the one his sophomore season, but they were still not where he wanted them to be.

His last two state tourneys, though, were as good as it gets.

“The last three district tournaments have not been Bubba’s best tournaments,” Chaminade coach Jack Wilson said. “Don’t know the reason for that. Last year, and this year, he seemed to shake them off and rise to the occasion.”

Chapman feels the different, longer format for state golf is one of the big reasons for his success there.

“There’s a little bit of comfort for me in having two rounds to play instead of one,” he said. “Most of the tournaments I play outside of high school are either two or more rounds, so I think that always gave me a little bit of confidence. And it’s at a point in the season where I think I’ve figured out how to get my game to peak at the right time. I show up there just feeling extremely confident in my game.”

As much as he loves the individual titles, Chapman takes even more pride in the three state team championships he was a part of, especially the last two that came by a grand total of two strokes.

He leaves Chaminade as the only golfer to this point with three state team titles to his name.

“We have had some wonderful players at Chaminade over the years,” Wilson said. “Bubba has rewritten the books for our program. With two individual titles and three team trophies, he is now the most decorated player in our history.”

This golden era of Chaminade golf has graduated a few big names the last couple years including Ryan Walsh, John Guerra, Clayton Becher, Charlie Kramer and now Chapman, among others, but Chapman feels like he is leaving the program in good hands.

“I think the program is in a great spot. I think the class of kids that are going into their junior year have a passion for the game and genuinely want to improve,” he said. “We’ve always had a lot of guys try out. In my four years, it’s gone up every year from 40-45 to almost 70 this year. People want to be a part of the program. I’m really excited to see where the program goes.”

As he heads off to play more big-time golf in the Southeastern Conference at the University of Missouri, Chapman was recently able to revisit the site where his biggest disappointment on the golf course came and he was able to wax poetic on how far he has come the last two years.

“This past week, I was out caddying for a couple friends at Aberdeen, which is where we played that round,” he said. “When I kind of reflect on it, I remember that round getting off to a shaky start and not being able to compose myself very well down the stretch. But when I think about it, I think I’ve definitely gotten my game to a spot mentally where, when I get off to a bad start, I have so much confidence in myself, I know my game is there and I’m gonna be able to play better golf. Sometimes, you just have to have a little patience.”