Sadly another member of the golfing Ten Broeck family has passed on.
Rick Ten Broeck died at 76 on Oct. 10 after suffering complications from Parkinson’s disearse and dementia. His younger brother Lance was 67 when he died in April, 2023, in Florida. They were two of the eight children of Willis and Eleanor Ten Broeck, both long-time members of Chicago’s Beverly Country Club .
The Ten Broeck golf saga blossomed in 1968 when older brother Jim won the Illinois State Amateur at Prestwick, in Frankfort. Rick finished second that day, with Lance serving as his caddie.
Jim also won the club championship as a junior member at Beverly, a South Side private club that is rich in golf history. Jim and Rick played college golf at Arizona State and Lance at Texas. Rick and Lance outdid Jim with their golf accompllishments in succeeding years.
Rick, the father of three children, lived in Evergreen Park at the time of his death. His father Willis was a multiple winner of the Beverly club championship, but Rick won it a whopping 18 times. He also won two Illinois Opens – in 1973 at Barrington Hills during his brief fling in the professional ranks, and in 1981 at Bon Vivant, in Bourbonnais, as a reinstated amateur. He was also an Illinois Amateur of the Year twice and the Chicago District Golf Association’s senior player-of-the-year in 2005 and 2006.
Lance carried the family name even further golf-wise. Like Rick he starred in the sport at Brother Rice High School. Lance’s first big splash on the national scene came at the 1975 U.S. Open at Medinah when – as a 19-year old amateur – he made the cut and tied for 49th place. He was also an Illinois Open champion, winning at Flossmoor in 1984.
His subsequent stay in the professional ranks was a long one. He played on the Nationwide, PGA and Champions tours and won the 1984 Magnolia Classic before it was an official PGA Tour event. (It’s now called the Sanderson Farms Championship).
Lance also was a successful caddie. His Florida neighbor, Jesper Parnivik asked his to carry his bag in the 1999 Greater Greeensboro Open, and Parnevik won the title by two strokes over Jim Furyk. Lance continued to work as a caddie but could also get into some events as a player. The most noteworthy of those was in the 2009 Valero Texas Open.
He was on Parnevik’s bag in that PGA Tour stop in the morning and then was told he could fill the spot of a player who had withdrawn in the afternoon. He did it, and posted a score lower than Parnevik’s.
A celebration of Rick Ten Broeck’s life will be held from 1-5 p.m. on Oct. 27 at Beverly Country Club.
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