Jess Sweetser
Encyclopedia
Jesse W. Sweetser was an amateur golf
er, best known as the first American
-born player to win the British Amateur (the first U.S. citizen to win it was the Australia
n-born naturalized-American Walter Travis
).
Born in St. Louis, Missouri
, Sweetser later attended Phillips Exeter Academy
and Yale University
. In 1920, Sweetser won the individual title at the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships
.
Sweetser won the 1922 U.S. Amateur at the age of 20, defeating Bobby Jones
8 & 7 in the semi-final and then Chick Evans
3 & 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 A.F. Simpson 6 & 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.
Sweetser was a member of the original Walker Cup
team in 1922, and also played in 1923, 1924, 1926, 1928, and 1932. Later, he was non-playing captain for the 1967 and 1973 teams. He was also captain for the 1966 U.S. Eisenhower Trophy
team.
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
.
Sweetser also served as treasurer and on the executive committee of the United States Golf Association
. In 1986, he was named the Bob Jones Award
winner, given in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
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.
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er, best known as the first American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-born player to win the British Amateur (the first U.S. citizen to win it was the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n-born naturalized-American Walter Travis
Walter Travis
Walter J. Travis was the most successful amateur golfer in the U.S. during the early 1900s, a noted golf journalist and publisher, an innovator in all aspects of golf, a teacher, and a respected golf course architect...
).
Born in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Sweetser later attended Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
and Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. In 1920, Sweetser won the individual title at the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships
NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships
The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, played in late May or early June, is the top annual competition in U.S. men's collegiate golf. It is a stroke play team competition, starting in 2009 the competition changed to a stroke play/match play competition with the top 8 teams after 54 holes of...
.
Sweetser won the 1922 U.S. Amateur at the age of 20, defeating Bobby Jones
Bobby Jones (golfer)
Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones Jr. was an American amateur golfer, and a lawyer by profession. Jones was the most successful amateur golfer ever to compete on a national and international level...
8 & 7 in the semi-final and then Chick Evans
Chick Evans
Charles E. "Chick" Evans, Jr. was a leading amateur golfer of the 1910s and 1920s. Evans was the first amateur to win the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in one year, a feat he achieved in 1916. Evans went on to win the U.S. Amateur in 1920, while finishing runner-up three times...
3 & 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 A.F. Simpson 6 & 5 in the final match. The 1904 winner, Walter Travis
Walter Travis
Walter J. Travis was the most successful amateur golfer in the U.S. during the early 1900s, a noted golf journalist and publisher, an innovator in all aspects of golf, a teacher, and a respected golf course architect...
, 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
Metropolitan Amateur
The Metropolitan Amateur or Met Amateur is an amateur golf tournament organized by the Metropolitan Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1899 and is one of the oldest amateur golf tournaments in the United States along with the U.S. Amateur and the Western Amateur...
in 1922 and 1925.
Sweetser was a member of the original Walker Cup
Walker Cup
The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested biennially in odd numbered years between teams comprising the leading amateur golfers of the United States and Great Britain and Ireland...
team in 1922, and also played in 1923, 1924, 1926, 1928, and 1932. Later, he was non-playing captain for the 1967 and 1973 teams. He was also captain for the 1966 U.S. Eisenhower Trophy
Eisenhower Trophy
The Eisenhower Trophy is a biennial world amateur team golf championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. It is named for Dwight D. Eisenhower, the President of the United States when the tournament was first played, who was a keen amateur golfer. Recent tournaments have...
team.
In his professional life, Sweetser started as a stockbroker in the 1920s, and later went to work for Curtiss-Wright
Curtiss-Wright
The Curtiss-Wright Corporation was the largest aircraft manufacturer in the United States at the end of World War II, but has evolved to largely become a component manufacturer, specializing in actuators, aircraft controls, valves, and metalworking....
. He retired in 1967 as a vice-president with Martin Marietta
Martin Marietta
Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of The Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. The combined company became a leader in chemicals, aerospace, and electronics. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin. The...
.
Sweetser also served as treasurer and on the executive committee of the United States Golf Association
United States Golf Association
The United States Golf Association is the United States' national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the Rules of Golf. The USGA also provides a national handicap system...
. In 1986, he was named the Bob Jones Award
Bob Jones Award
The Bob Jones Award is the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. It is named in honor of Bobby Jones.-Winners:*1955 Francis Ouimet*1956 William C. Campbell*1957 Babe Zaharias...
winner, given in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.
Tournament wins
this list may be incomplete- 1920 NCAA ChampionshipNCAA Division I Men's Golf ChampionshipsThe NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, played in late May or early June, is the top annual competition in U.S. men's collegiate golf. It is a stroke play team competition, starting in 2009 the competition changed to a stroke play/match play competition with the top 8 teams after 54 holes of...
- 1922 U.S. Amateur, Metropolitan AmateurMetropolitan AmateurThe Metropolitan Amateur or Met Amateur is an amateur golf tournament organized by the Metropolitan Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1899 and is one of the oldest amateur golf tournaments in the United States along with the U.S. Amateur and the Western Amateur...
- 1923 Gold Mashie Tournament
- 1925 Metropolitan AmateurMetropolitan AmateurThe Metropolitan Amateur or Met Amateur is an amateur golf tournament organized by the Metropolitan Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1899 and is one of the oldest amateur golf tournaments in the United States along with the U.S. Amateur and the Western Amateur...
- 1926 British Amateur
- 1927 Gold Mashie Tournament
Wins (2)
| Year | Championship | Winning Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | U.S. Amateur | 3 & 2 |  Chick EvansChick Evans Charles E. "Chick" Evans, Jr. was a leading amateur golfer of the 1910s and 1920s. Evans was the first amateur to win the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in one year, a feat he achieved in 1916. Evans went on to win the U.S. Amateur in 1920, while finishing runner-up three times... |
| 1926 | British Amateur | 6 & 5 |  A.F. Simpson |
Results timeline
| Tournament | 1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
DNP | T14 | DNP | DNP | WD | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Amateur | DNQ | R16 | QF | 1 | 2 | DNQ | QF | DNP | DNP | R16 | QF |
| British Amateur | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | R256 | DNP | DNP | 1 | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | 58 | DNP | WD | 40 | 33 | T29 | DNP |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Amateur | SF | DNP | DNQ | DNP | R64 | DNP | R128 | DNP | R32 | DNP | R16 |
| British Amateur | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | NT |
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
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.