The U.S. Open’s top 10 players for peak performance
By Bill Felber
2. Bobby Jones, -1.88 peak (1921-1930)
Since he retired in 1930 at the young age of 28, identifying Jones’ 10-year prime is pretty easy: 1921 to 1930.
During that decade – a period of true dominance – Jones won four times (1923, 1926, 1920 and 1930), finished second four more times (1922, 1924, 1925 and 1928), and only once finished outside the tournament’s top five. That was an 11th place finish in 1927.
Here’s how routinely Jones hung around the top of the championship leaderboard: During that decade, he played in three playoffs.
After finishing one stroke behind Gene Sarazen in 1922, Jones beat Bobby Cruickshank by two strokes in a 1923 playoff at Inwood. Two years later at Worcester, Jones buried his approach in a bunker on the 35th hole of his playoff with Willie Macfarlane and lost.
His third victory, over Al Espinosa at Winged Foot in 1929, also came in a playoff, this one following Jones’ conversion of a 12-foot putt on the final hole of regulation. The playoff was no contest: Jones shot 72-69 to beat Espinosa by 23 strokes.
His 1930 victory at Interlachen provided the third leg of his historic Grand Slam. A breezy seven strokes in front through Saturday’s morning round, Jones stumbled during the afternoon round but had enough of a cushion to hold off Macdonald Smith by two strokes.