On September 27, 1930, one of the most unprecedented feats in sports took place at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Over 9,000 fans flocked to the U.S. Amateur Championship of Golf to witness 28-year old Bobby Jones on the brink of history.
Earlier in the year, Jones won the British Amateur, British Open, and U.S. Open tournaments. He was trying to become the first player in history to win the four major golf events in a calendar year.
Jones didn't disappoint, and held off challenger Eugene Homans in the final 36 holes. By the time the afternoon came, the crowd swelled quickly as close to 20,000 spectators had witnessed one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of sports. After the morning round, Jones was ahead by seven holes. Both players had parred the 11th hole in the afternoon, and Jones had an eight-hole lead with seven to play(In golf, they call it 8 & 7).
Unsure of what to call the feat, Atlanta newsman O.B. Keeler came up with the term "Grand Slam". It has stuck ever since. Jones would retire from golf, but would play professional until 1948.
His 1930 performance on the golf course earned him the James E. Sullivan Award which is given to the top amateur athlete. Along with Clifford Roberts, Jones helped start golf's current most prestigious tournament, The Masters, which began in Augusta, GA in 1934.
The majors at the time were the U.S. and British Opens along with the Amateurs. That is no longer the case after The Masters tournament was founded. The PGA Championship is the other major event along with the two Opens.
Jones won 13 major events in his career, and is still the only golfer in history to win the "Grand Slam" in a calendar year. He never was a factor in The Masters tournaments, but is still widely considered one of the best players in the game's history. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
In Golf Digest's 2000 poll of the greatest players in golf history, Jones ranked fourth. First was Jack Nicklaus, then Ben Hogan followed by Sam Snead. ESPN's Sports Century's panel of experts in 2000 ranked Jones No. 44 on their list of the greatest North American athletes of the 20th Century. As you can see, Jones' mark on the game is remarkable and very noteworthy.
Jones died in 1971, three years before he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Thanks for viewing, and I hope you enjoyed this FSD History Flashback!
Photo courtesy of geocities.com
6 comments:
many say he was the best ever
3rd- With those accomplishments that he had, it's hard to say to someone that he's not. I'm not a golf fan at all, but he succeeded during a period of the roaring 20s that saw many sports icons.
Thanks for stopping by as always.
Back in the day before titanium, and computers.. can you say SKILL
imagine that, i grew up not to far from that course!!
nice bit of history sir.
MadMan- LOL! No doubt about that.
Cindy- I thought you would like that coming from your home state. It was by far the best sports moment on September 27.
Lester- Thanks for coming by.
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