Jerome Dunstan "Jerry" Travers (May 19, 1887 – March 29, 1951) was one of the leading amateur golfers of the early 1900s. He won the U.S. Amateur in 1907, 1908, 1912 and 1913, the New Jersey Amateur three times, and the Metropolitan Amateur (New York) five times. He was regarded as one of the finest match play golfers of his time and had a famous rivalry with Walter Travis. He won the 1915 U.S. Open.

Jerome Travers
Travers playing in the 1915 U.S. Open
Personal information
Full nameJerome Dunstan Travers
NicknameJerry
Born(1887-05-19)May 19, 1887
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedMarch 29, 1951(1951-03-29) (aged 63)
East Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Sporting nationality United States
Career
StatusProfessional
Professional wins1
Best results in major championships
(wins: 5)
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenWon: 1915
The Open ChampionshipDNP
U.S. AmateurWon: 1907, 1908, 1912, 1913
British AmateurT129: 1909, 1914
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame1976 (member page)

Early life

edit

Travers was born on May 19, 1887, in New York City, New York.

Golf career

edit

On September 16, 1905, a then 18-year-old Travers partnered with Herbert Strong to tie for second place, shooting 72, in a four-ball tournament held at Fox Hills Golf Club on Staten Island as part of the 1905 Metropolitan Open.[1] The stroke play portion of the tournament was won by Alex Smith.[1]

In 1915 Travers won the U.S. Open at Baltusrol Golf Club, making him the second of the five amateurs to win the event. It was his only top ten finish in four appearances at the U.S. Open – he never entered the tournament again once he had won it.

Although all of Travers' notable victories came as an amateur, he later became a teaching professional and gave exhibitions.

Death and legacy

edit

Travers died on March 29, 1951, in East Hartford, Connecticut. He is remembered as one of the finest amateur golfers of all time. He won the U.S. Amateur four times and the U.S. Open in 1915. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1976.[2]

Tournament wins

edit

Major championships

edit
 
Jerome Travers

Professional wins (1)

edit
Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1915 U.S. Open 1 shot lead +1 (76-72-73-76=297) 1 stroke   Tom McNamara

Amateur wins (4)

edit
Year Championship Winning Score Runner-up
1907 U.S. Amateur 6 & 5   Archibald Graham
1908 U.S. Amateur 8 & 7   Max H. Behr
1912 U.S. Amateur 7 & 6   Chick Evans
1913 U.S. Amateur 5 & 4   John G. Anderson

Results timeline

edit
Tournament 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
U.S. Open T25 CUT
U.S. Amateur R64 R32 R32 QF 1 1
The Amateur Championship R256
Tournament 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
U.S. Open T27 1 NT NT
U.S. Amateur QF 1 1 2 R16 NT NT R32
The Amateur Championship R256 NT NT NT NT NT

Note: Travers played in only the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, and The Amateur Championship.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

NT = No tournament
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play

Sources: U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur,[3] Amateur Championship: 1909,[4] 1914[5]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Four Ball Match". New York Tribune. September 17, 1905. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  2. ^ "Jerry Travers". World Golf Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  3. ^ USGA Championship Database Archived June 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "The Amateur Championship at Muirfield" (PDF). The American Golfer. July 1909. pp. 9–15. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 24, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  5. ^ "Golf Illustrated, July 1914, p. 25". Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
edit