The U.S. Open’s 10 greatest players: career rating
By Bill Felber
1. Bobby Jones, -1.83 (1920-1930)
Perhaps the statistical hallmark of a great career is knowing when to get out. The top two names on this list, Anderson and Jones, both left the game at or near their primes, Anderson by death and Jones due to retirement.
Jones was just 28 when he quit in 1930 to pursue other interests, among them golf course design and law. By then, of course, he was coming off his Grand Slam season, having taken the U.S. and British Open and Amateur titles.
With particular respect to the U.S. Open, Jones competed 11 times, annually between 1920 (when he was 18) and 1930. He won four times – 1923, 1926, 1929 and 1930 – was runner-up four more times, and only twice finished outside the top five.
He tied for eighth in his 1920 debut, and in 1927 at Oakmont fought through one of those rare weeks that proves even the greatest are human. He tied for 11th, eight strokes out of a playoff won by Tommy Armour over Harry Cooper.
The secret to Jones’ rating – and also to his greatness – was the consistency with which he dominated his contemporaries. Only twice in his 11 Open appearances – in those 1920 and 1927 showings — did he finish less than a full standard deviation better than the field average.
In contrast, Jones seven times in those 11 events came home more than 1.9 standard deviations ahead of the field.