The Open Championship: Top 10 moments in history

10. Bobby Jones wins The Open on his way to the Grand Slam

70 years before golf fans witnessed one of the greatest seasons in the history of golf as Tiger Woods won three of the four majors, including The Open Championship, on his way to the Tiger Slam, there was Bobby Jones’ historic 1930 campaign.

Easily the greatest amateur the sport has ever had and will ever know, Jones came to The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool soon after winning the British Amateur, which at the time was one of golf’s four major championships along with The Open, the U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur.  With the United States still reeling from the stock market crash the year before, Jones became someone that people wanted to latch onto, even if only for four days at a time. He gave people hope that the impossible (winning the Grand Slam) could become possible and winning The Open would only feed into that notion that this could really happen.

Jones’ opening-round 70 tied him at the top of the leaderboard with Macdonald Smith and Henry Cotton, who would go on to win The Open three times down the line. Jones shot even-par 72 in the second round to take a one-shot lead over Fred Hobson going into Friday, a grueling 36-hole final day to determine the champion.

While Jones didn’t play his best on his way to a 2-over round of 74 in the morning round, Englishman Archie Compston fired a brilliant 68 to take a one-shot advantage into Friday’s afternoon 18. However, Compston imploded in his final round with an 82, leaving the door open for Jones. He still wasn’t playing his best golf but a fantastic bunker shot on the 16th saved his round as he came in with a 75 to sit at 3-over par for the championship. Things weren’t like they are today as Jones was not part of the final group and he had to sit and watch as Smith and Leo Diegel finished up with a chance to catch him. But neither could do so and Jones walked away with a two-shot victory.

Not only had Jones become just the second player in history to win both the British Amateur and The Open Championship, joining John Ball, who had accomplished the feat 40 years earlier, but he was also the last amateur to ever win The Open Championship. He was given a huge parade in New York City upon his return to the United States and would obviously go on to win the U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur to complete the Grand Slam.