Jess Sweetser
Jess Sweetser | |||
---|---|---|---|
Sweetser in 1925 | |||
Personal information | |||
Full name | Jesse William Sweetser | ||
Born | (1902-04-18)April 18, 1902 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | ||
Died | May 27, 1989(1989-05-27) (aged 87) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. | ||
Sporting nationality | United States | ||
Spouse | Agnes Isobel "Nan" Lewis Sweetser; Virginia Lee Sweetser | ||
Children | 3 | ||
Career | |||
College | Yale University | ||
Status | Amateur | ||
Best results in major championships (wins: 2) | |||
Masters Tournament | T29: 1939 | ||
PGA Championship | DNP | ||
U.S. Open | T14: 1920 | ||
The Open Championship | DNP | ||
U.S. Amateur | Won: 1922 | ||
British Amateur | Won: 1926 | ||
Achievements and awards | |||
|
Jesse William Sweetser (April 18, 1902 – May 27, 1989) was an amateur golfer, best known as the first American-born player to win the British Amateur.
Early life
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Sweetser later attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Yale University.[1] In 1920, Sweetser won the individual title at the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships. He received golf lessons from noted Siwanoy Country Club professional Tom Kerrigan.[2]
Golf career
Sweetser won the 1922 U.S. Amateur at the age of 20, defeating Bobby Jones, 8 and 7, in the semi-final and then Chick Evans, 3 and 2, in the final match. The following year, he again made the finals but lost on the second playoff hole to Max Marston.
In 1926, Sweetser won the British Amateur at Muirfield, defeating Fred Simpson, 6 and 5, in the final match. The 1904 winner, Walter Travis, was a naturalized American citizen born in Australia, but Sweetser's victory was the first time an American-born golfer had won the tournament.
Sweetster won the Metropolitan Amateur in 1922 and 1925.
Walker Cup
Sweetser was a member of the original Walker Cup team in 1922, and also played in 1923, 1924, 1926, 1928, and 1932. He was also selected for the 1930 team but withdrew for business reasons. Later, he was non-playing captain for the 1967 and 1973 teams. He was also captain for the 1966 U.S. Eisenhower Trophy team.
Professional life
In his professional life, Sweetser started as a stockbroker in the 1920s, and later went to work for Curtiss-Wright. He retired in 1967 as a vice-president with Martin Marietta.[1]
Sweetser also served as treasurer and on the executive committee of the United States Golf Association.[3] In 1986, he was named the Bob Jones Award winner, given in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.
Death and legacy
Sweetser died on May 27, 1989, in Bethesda, Maryland. Sweetser served as treasurer and on the executive committee of the United States Golf Association.[3] In 1986, he was named the Bob Jones Award winner, given in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.
Tournament wins
this list may be incomplete
- 1920 NCAA Championship
- 1922 U.S. Amateur, Metropolitan Amateur
- 1923 Gold Mashie Tournament
- 1925 Metropolitan Amateur, Gold Golf Ball Tourney (with Glenna Collett), Gibson Island C.C. Invitational
- 1926 British Amateur
- 1927 Gold Mashie Tournament
- 1931 Cape Cod Open[4][5]
Major championships
Wins (2)
Year | Championship | Winning Score | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|
1922 | U.S. Amateur | 3 & 2 | Chick Evans |
1926 | British Amateur | 6 & 5 | Fred Simpson |
Results timeline
Tournament | 1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Open | T14 | WD | |||||||||
U.S. Amateur | DNQ | R16 | QF | 1 | 2 | DNQ | QF | R16 | QF | ||
British Amateur | R256 | 1 |
Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | 58 | WD | 40 | 33 | T29 | ||
U.S. Open | |||||||||||
U.S. Amateur | SF | DNQ | R64 | R128 | R32 | R16 | |||||
British Amateur | NT |
Sweetser played in the Masters each year from 1952 to 1955 but withdrew on each occasion.
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Source for The Masters: www.masters.com
Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur: USGA Championship Database
Source for 1923 British Amateur: The American Golfer, July, 1923, pg. 10.
Source for 1926 British Amateur: The American Golfer, July, 1926, pg. 9. Archived May 9, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
- Walker Cup: 1922 (winners), 1923 (winners), 1924 (winners), 1926 (winners), 1928 (winners), 1932 (winners), 1967 (winners, non-playing captain), 1973 (winners, non-playing captain)
References
- ^ a b Nunn, Sam (June 16, 1989). "Tribute to the Late Jesse W. Sweetser". Congressional Record (Senate) 1989-1990. Retrieved December 30, 2006.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Tom Kerrigan, 68, Siwanoy Golf Pro". The New York Times. May 7, 1964. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
- ^ a b Michel, Robert H. (June 22, 1989). "Tribute to Jess W. Sweetser". Congressional Record 1989-1990 (Extension of Remarks). Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2006.
- ^ "Jess Sweetser Wins Cape Cod Open Title By One Stroke Edge". Hartford Courant. Chatham, Massachusetts. Associated Press. August 23, 1931. p. 29. Retrieved July 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sweetser's 150 is Low". Democrat and Chronicle. Chatham, Massachusetts. Associated Press. August 23, 1931. p. 25. Retrieved July 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
- Yale University profile[permanent dead link]
- U.S. Amateur 1922 page Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- New York Times obituary
- 1926 Time Magazine article on the British Amateur
- v
- t
- e
- 1895 Charles B. Macdonald
- 1896 H. J. Whigham
- 1897 H. J. Whigham
- 1898 Findlay S. Douglas
- 1899 Herbert M. Harriman
- 1900 Walter Travis
- 1901 Walter Travis
- 1902 Louis N. James
- 1903 Walter Travis
- 1904 Chandler Egan
- 1905 Chandler Egan
- 1906 Eben Byers
- 1907 Jerome Travers
- 1908 Jerome Travers
- 1909 Robert Gardner
- 1910 William C. Fownes Jr.
- 1911 Harold Hilton†
- 1912 Jerome Travers
- 1913 Jerome Travers
- 1914 Francis Ouimet
- 1915 Robert Gardner
- 1916 Chick Evans
- 1917–18 Cancelled due to World War I
- 1919 Davidson Herron
- 1920 Chick Evans
- 1921 Jesse Guilford
- 1922 Jess Sweetser
- 1923 Max Marston†
- 1924 Bobby Jones
- 1925 Bobby Jones
- 1926 George Von Elm
- 1927 Bobby Jones
- 1928 Bobby Jones
- 1929 Jimmy Johnston
- 1930 Bobby Jones
- 1931 Francis Ouimet
- 1932 Ross Somerville
- 1933 George Dunlap
- 1934 Lawson Little
- 1935 Lawson Little
- 1936 Johnny Fischer†
- 1937 Johnny Goodman
- 1938 Willie Turnesa
- 1939 Bud Ward
- 1940 Dick Chapman
- 1941 Bud Ward
- 1942–1945 Cancelled due to World War II
- 1946 Ted Bishop†
- 1947 Skee Riegel
- 1948 Willie Turnesa
- 1949 Charles Coe
- 1950 Sam Urzetta†
- 1951 Billy Maxwell
- 1952 Jack Westland
- 1953 Gene Littler
- 1954 Arnold Palmer
- 1955 Harvie Ward
- 1956 Harvie Ward
- 1957 Hillman Robbins
- 1958 Charles Coe
- 1959 Jack Nicklaus
- 1960 Deane Beman
- 1961 Jack Nicklaus
- 1962 Labron Harris Jr.
- 1963 Deane Beman
- 1964 William C. Campbell
- 1965 Bob Murphy
- 1966 Gary Cowan†
- 1967 Bob Dickson
- 1968 Bruce Fleisher
- 1969 Steve Melnyk
- 1970 Lanny Wadkins
- 1971 Gary Cowan
- 1972 Vinny Giles
- 1973 Craig Stadler
- 1974 Jerry Pate
- 1975 Fred Ridley
- 1976 Bill Sander
- 1977 John Fought
- 1978 John Cook
- 1979 Mark O'Meara
- 1980 Hal Sutton
- 1981 Nathaniel Crosby
- 1982 Jay Sigel
- 1983 Jay Sigel
- 1984 Scott Verplank
- 1985 Sam Randolph
- 1986 Buddy Alexander
- 1987 Billy Mayfair
- 1988 Eric Meeks
- 1989 Chris Patton
- 1990 Phil Mickelson
- 1991 Mitch Voges
- 1992 Justin Leonard
- 1993 John Harris
- 1994 Tiger Woods
- 1995 Tiger Woods
- 1996 Tiger Woods†
- 1997 Matt Kuchar
- 1998 Hank Kuehne
- 1999 David Gossett
- 2000 Jeff Quinney†
- 2001 Bubba Dickerson
- 2002 Ricky Barnes
- 2003 Nick Flanagan†
- 2004 Ryan Moore
- 2005 Edoardo Molinari
- 2006 Richie Ramsay
- 2007 Colt Knost
- 2008 Danny Lee
- 2009 An Byeong-hun
- 2010 Peter Uihlein
- 2011 Kelly Kraft
- 2012 Steven Fox†
- 2013 Matt Fitzpatrick
- 2014 Gunn Yang
- 2015 Bryson DeChambeau
- 2016 Curtis Luck
- 2017 Doc Redman
- 2018 Viktor Hovland
- 2019 Andy Ogletree
- 2020 Tyler Strafaci
- 2021 James Piot
- 2022 Sam Bennett
- 2023 Nick Dunlap
- † indicates the event was won in extra holes.