Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones Jr. (March 17, 1902 – December 18, 1971) was one of the greatest golfers Golf is a precision club-and-ball sport, in which competing players , using many types of clubs, attempt to hit balls into each hole on a golf course while employing the fewest number of strokes. Golf is one of the few ball games that does not require a standardized playing area. Instead, the game is played on golf "courses", each of to compete on a national and international level. He participated only as an amateur, primarily on a part-time basis, and chose to retire from competition at age 28.
Explaining his decision to retire, Jones said, "It (championships) is something like a cage. First you are expected to get into it and then you are expected to stay there. But of course, nobody can stay there."[1]
Jones is most famous for his unique "Grand Slam," consisting of his victory in all four major golf tournaments The men's major golf championships, often referred to simply as "the majors", are the four most prestigious annual tournaments in professional golf. In order of their playing date, the current majors are: of his era (the open and amateur championships in both the U.S. & Britain) in a single calendar year (1930).
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Early years
Jones was born in Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. He was a child prodigy, who won his first children's tournament at the age of six and made the third round of the U.S. Amateur Championship at 14. That same year, 1916, he won the Georgia State Amateur Championship for his first important title at Capital City Club located in Brookhaven, where he became an active member later in life.[2] He was trained and coached by club professional Stewart Maiden, a native of Carnoustie Carnoustie is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is situated at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast. In the 2001 census, Carnoustie had a population of 10,561, making it the fourth largest town in Angus, Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland, who was a very fine player. Jones played frequently with his father, Col. Robert P. Jones, a skilled player himself. The younger Jones sometimes battled his own temper on the course, but later cured this problem as he became more experienced. Jones toured the U.S. during World War I World War I was a military conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918 and involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies and the Central Powers. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. More than 15 million people were from 1917-18, playing exhibition matches before large crowds to generate income for war relief. He qualified for his first U.S. Open 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. It is staged by the United States Golf Association in mid-June, scheduled so that, if at age 18 in 1920. He won the Southern Amateur three times, 1917, 1920, and 1922.
First majors
As an adult, he hit his stride in 1923, when he won his first U.S. Open 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. It is staged by the United States Golf Association in mid-June, scheduled so that, if. From that win at New York's Inwood Country Club, through his 1930 victory in the U.S. Amateur, he won 13 major championships The men's major golf championships, often referred to simply as "the majors", are the four most prestigious annual tournaments in professional golf. In order of their playing date, the current majors are: (as they were counted at the time) in 20 attempts. Jones was the first player to win The Double, both the U.S. Open and the British Open The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico. The Open is played on the weekend of the third Friday in July. It is the third in the same year (1926). He is still the only player ever to have won the Grand Slam The Grand Slam in men's golf is an unofficial concept, having changed over time. In the modern era, The Grand Slam is generally considered to be winning all four of golf's major championships in the same calendar year. Before The Masters was founded, the national amateur championships of the U.S and the UK were considered majors along with the two, or all four major championships, in the same year (1930). He represented the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language in the 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 . The event, officially called the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches", unlike the professional Ryder Cup Matches), is co-organised by the R&A and the United five times, winning nine of his 10 matches. He also won two other tournaments against professionals: the 1927 Southern Open and the 1930 Southeastern Open. Jones was a life-long member of the Atlanta Athletic Club The Atlanta Athletic Club, , founded in 1898, is a world-renowned private athletic club in Johns Creek, Georgia, a suburb 23 miles north of Atlanta, Georgia. The original home of the club was a 10-story building located on Carnegie Way, and in 1904 a golf course was built on Atlanta's East Lake property. In 1908, John Heisman (the Georgia Tech (at the club's original site, now the East Lake Golf Club), and the Capital City Club in Atlanta.
Jones is considered one of the five giants of the 1920s American sports scene, along with baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players on one team take turns hitting against the pitcher of the other team (the fielding team), which tries's Babe Ruth George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935. Ruth originally broke into the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox as a starting pitcher, but after he was sold to the New York Yankees in 1919, he, boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art in which two people fight using their fists. Boxing is typically supervised by a referee engaged in during a series of one- to three-minute intervals called rounds, and boxers generally of similar weight. There are three ways to win; if the opponent is knocked out and unable to get up before the referee's Jack Dempsey Jack Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983) was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first million dollar gate. He is listed #10, football American football, known in the United States simply as football and often as gridiron outside the United States, is a competitive team sport. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. The ball can be advanced by carrying it or by throwing it to a teammate (a passing play). Points can be's Red Grange, and tennis Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a racquet that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court player Bill Tilden.[3][4][5] He was the first recipient of the AAU's Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. He is the only sports figure to receive two ticker-tape parades in New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over global commerce, finance, media, culture, art, fashion, research, education, and entertainment. As host of the, the first in 1926 and the second in 1930. Jones is memorialized in Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia. The city of Augusta and Richmond County governments merged operations in 1996; as of 2008, the Augusta-Richmond County estimated population was 194,149, not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe at the Golf Gardens and has the Bobby Jones Expressway, also known as Interstate 520, named for him.
Sportsmanship
Jones was not only a consummately skilled golfer, but he also exemplified the principles of sportsmanship Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. Being a "good sport" involves being a "good winner" as well as being a "good loser" and fair play. Early in his amateur career, he was in the final playoff of the 1925 U.S. Open at the Worcester Worcester (pronounced /ˈwʊstər/ , WOOS-tər), pronounced locally and in most parts of England as [ˈwʊstə], is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Birmingham and 29 miles (47 km) north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 Country Club. During the match, his ball ended up in the rough just off the fairway, and as he was setting up to play his shot, his iron caused a slight movement of the ball. He immediately got angry with himself, turned to the marshals, and called a penalty on himself. The marshals discussed among themselves and questioned some of the gallery whether they had seen Jones's ball move. Their decision was that neither they nor anyone else had witnessed any incident, so the decision was left to Jones. Bobby Jones called the two-stroke penalty on himself, not knowing that he would lose the tournament by one stroke. When he was praised for his gesture, Jones replied, "You may as well praise a man for not robbing a bank." The USGA 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 for golfers, conducts 13 national championships,'s sportsmanship award is named the 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 in his honor.
St Andrews, Scotland
Jones had a unique relationship with the town of St Andrews St Andrews , (Scottish Gaelic: Cill Rìmhinn) is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle. The "-s" in St.Andrews is not a possessive, representing Androis, the Gaelic form of Andrew, Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland. On his first appearance on the Old Course The Old Course at St Andrews is one of the oldest golf courses in the world. The Old Course is a public course over common land in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland and is held in trust by The St Andrews Links Trust under an act of Parliament. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews club house sits adjacent to the first tee and although it might be in the British Open The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico. The Open is played on the weekend of the third Friday in July. It is the third of 1921, he withdrew after 11 holes in the third round. He firmly stated his dislike for the Old Course and the town reciprocated, saying in the press, "Master Bobby is just a boy, and an ordinary boy at that." Later, he came to love the Old Course and the town like few others. When he won the Open at the Old Course in 1927, he wowed the crowd by asking that the trophy remain with his friends at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is one of the oldest and most prestigious golf clubs in the world . It is based in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, and is regarded as the worldwide "Home of Golf". Formerly, it was also one of the governing authorities of the game, but in 2004 this role was handed over to a newly formed group of rather than return with him to Atlanta. In 1958, he was named a Freeman of the City Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe to esteemed members of its community or to organisations that have given the community heroic service; the term applies to two separate honors, one civilian and one military. Key of St Andrews, becoming only the second American to be so honored, the other being Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author and printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for in 1759. Today, a scholarship exchange bearing the Jones name exists between the University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews, founded between 1410 and 1413, is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world. The University is situated in the town of St Andrews, in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland and both Emory University Emory University is a private research university located in the metropolitan Atlanta area of Druid Hills, Georgia. The Oxford College campus is located in Oxford, Georgia, where the university was founded in 1836 by a small group of Methodists as Emory College, which was named in honor of John Emory, a well-known Methodist bishop. The university and the Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public, coeducational research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States. It is a part of the University System of Georgia and has satellite campuses in Savannah, Georgia; Metz, France; Athlone, Ireland; Shanghai, China; and Singapore in Atlanta. At Emory, four students are sent to St Andrews for an all-expenses-paid year of study and travel. In return, Emory accepts four students from St Andrews each year. The program, the Robert T. Jones Scholarship, is among the most prestigious scholarships offered by any university.
University, family, career
Jones's grave in Oakland CemeteryJones was successful outside of golf as well. He earned his B.S. A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years (see below) in Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the design, production, and operation of machines and from Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public, coeducational research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States. It is a part of the University System of Georgia and has satellite campuses in Savannah, Georgia; Metz, France; Athlone, Ireland; Shanghai, China; and Singapore in 1922, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. Founded at the University of Alabama in 1856, it is the only fraternity founded in the Antebellum South still in operation. Its national headquarters, the Levere Memorial Temple, was established on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in 1929 fraternity Fraternities and Sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In English, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in North America, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations. Similar, but less common, organizations also exist for secondary, and played for the golf team. He then earned a B.A. Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both. Bachelor of Arts degree programs generally last three to four years depending upon the country, academic institution, and specific majors or minors in English Literature from Harvard College Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees. Founded in 1636, it is also Harvard's oldest school. Instruction of its students is the responsibility of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences in 1924, where he was a member of the Owl Club. After only one year in law school at Emory University Emory University is a private research university located in the metropolitan Atlanta area of Druid Hills, Georgia. The Oxford College campus is located in Oxford, Georgia, where the university was founded in 1836 by a small group of Methodists as Emory College, which was named in honor of John Emory, a well-known Methodist bishop. The university, he passed the bar exam In Brazil there is a bar examination that occurs in each State in March, September and January. These examinations are organized by Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil, the Brazilian Bar association. The exam is divided in two stages - the first one consists of 100 multiple choice questions covering all the disciplines learned at the University, where.
Jones was married in 1924 to the former Mary Rice Malone. They had three children, Clara, Robert Tyre III, and Mary Ellen. When he retired from golf at age 28, he concentrated on his Atlanta law practice. That same year, 1930, he was honored with the first James E. Sullivan Award, awarded annually by the Amateur Athletic Union to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. In addition, he made eighteen instructional films, worked with A.G. Spalding & Co. to develop the first set of matched clubs, co-designed the Augusta National Augusta National Golf Club, located in Augusta, Georgia, is a famous golf club. Founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts and designed by Alister MacKenzie on the site of a former Indigo plantation, the club opened for play in January 1933. Since 1934 it has played host to the annual Masters Tournament, one of the four major championships in course with Alister MacKenzie Alister MacKenzie was a British surgeon who was internationally known as a golf course architect. During World War I, he also made contributions to military camouflage, which he saw as closely related to golf course design (MacKenzie 1920, pp. 128-131; Behrens 2009), and founded The Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament, also known as The Masters, or The U.S. Masters outside of the United States, is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, it is the first of the majors to be played each year. Unlike the other major championships, the Masters is held each year at the same location,, first played at Augusta in March 1934. During World War II Albania · Australia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Brazil · Bulgaria · Burma · Cambodia · Canada · Ceylon (Sri Lanka) · Channel Islands · China · Czechoslovakia · Denmark · Dutch East Indies · Egypt · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Greenland · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland ·, while he was serving as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II. The direct precursor to the United States Air Force, its peak size was over 2.4 million men and women in service and nearly 80,000 aircraft in 1944, and 783 domestic bases in December 1943. By VE Day it had 1.25, Jones permitted the U.S. Army to graze cattle on the grounds at Augusta National. Later, in 1945, he founded Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta and co-designed the course with Robert Trent Jones.
Jones did play in the Masters every year it was held until 1948, when he was 46 years old. By then, his health had declined to the stage where this was no longer possible. But with his health difficulties, and being past his prime and not competing elsewhere to stay in tournament form, he never truly contended to win the Masters, although his scores were usually respectable. These were largely ceremonial performances, since his main duty was as host of the event. His extraordinary popularity, efforts with the course design, and tournament organization boosted the profile of the Masters significantly. The tournament, jointly run by Jones and Clifford Roberts, made many important innovations which became the norm elsewhere, such as gallery ropes to control the flow of the large crowds, many scoreboards around the course, the use of red / green numbers on those scoreboards to denote under / over par scores, an international field of top players, high-caliber television coverage, and week-long admission passes for patrons, which became extremely hard to obtain. The tournament also sought and welcomed feedback from players, fans, and writers, leading to continual improvement over the years. The Masters gradually evolved to being one of the most respected tournaments in the world, one of the four major championships.[6]
Incapacity and death
In 1948, Jones was diagnosed with syringomyelia, a fluid-filled cavity in his spinal cord which caused first pain, then paralysis. He was eventually restricted to a wheelchair. He died in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 18, 1971, about a week after converting to Catholicism. Jones was baptized on his death bed by Monsignor John D. Stapleton, pastor of the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta, the church attended by the Jones family[citation needed] and was buried in Atlanta's historic Oakland Cemetery. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.[7]
Major championships
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