Bobby Jones
Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones Jr. (March 17, 1902 – December 18, 1971), born in Atlanta, Georgia, was one of the greatest golfers 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.
Jones 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.
Jones graduated from Georgia Tech in mechanical engineering in 1922. Jones added an A.B. in English from Harvard in 1924.
As an adult, he hit his stride in 1923, when he won his first U.S. Open. From that win at New York's Inwood Country Club, through his 1930 victory in the U.S. Amateur he won 13 Major Championships (as they were counted at the time) in 20 attempts, ranking him behind only Jack Nicklaus' 20 wins and Tiger Woods' 15 wins (including their U.S. Amateur championships). Jones was the first player to win The Double, both the U.S. Open and the British Open in the same year (1926). He is still the only player ever to have won the Grand Slam, or all four major championships, in the same year. He represented the United States in the Walker Cup 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 and the Capital City Club in Atlanta.
Jones is considered one of the five giants of the 1920s American sports scene, along with baseball's Babe Ruth, boxing's Jack Dempsey, American football's Red Grange, and tennis player Bill Tilden. He was the first recipient of the Amateur Athletic Union's James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. He was the first person ever to receive two ticker-tape parades in New York City, the first in 1926 and the second in 1930. Astronaut John Glenn was the only other person so honored. Jones is memoralized in Augusta, Georgia 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 and fair play. In the beginning of his amateur career, he was in the final playoff of the U.S. Open. 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 if anyone had seen Jones' 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 United States Golf Association's sportsmanship award is named the Bob Jones Award in his honor.
St Andrews, Scotland
Jones had a unique relationship with the town of St Andrews, Scotland. On his first appearance on the Old Course in The Open Championship 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." 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 rather than return with him to Atlanta. In 1958, he was named a Freeman of the City of St Andrews, becoming only the second American to be so honored, the other being Benjamin Franklin in 1759. Today, a scholarship exchange bearing the Jones name exists between the University of St Andrews and both Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. A similar exchange exists in Canada between St. Andrew's University and the University of Western Ontario and Queen's University; the associated foundation is under the patronage of Prince Andrew, Duke of York as a member of the Canadian Royal Family.
Later life
Jones was successful outside of golf as well. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Harvard University. After only one year in law school at Emory University, he passed the bar exam.
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. 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 course with Alister MacKenzie and was one of the founders of The Masters Tournament, first played at Augusta in 1934. During World War II, while he was serving as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Forces, 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.
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, in 1971 and is buried in Atlanta's historic Oakland Cemetery. He became a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
Major championships
Wins (7)
| Year | Championship | 54 Holes | Winning Score | Margin | Runners Up |
| 1923 | U.S. Open | 3 shot lead | +8 (71-73-76-76=296) | Playoff 1 |  Bobby Cruickshank
|
| 1926 | U.S. Open (2) | 3 shot deficit | +5 (70-79-71-73=293) | 1 stroke |  Joe Turnesa
|
| 1926 | The Open Championship | -2 (291) | 2 strokes | Al Watrous
| |
| 1927 | The Open Championship (2) | -6 (69-72-72-72=285) | 6 strokes |  Aubrey Boomer
| |
| 1929 | U.S. Open (3) | 3 shot lead | +6 (69-75-71-79=294) | Playoff 2 | Al Espinosa
|
| 1930 | U.S. Open (4) | 5 shot lead | -1 (71-73-68-75=287) | 2 strokes | Macdonald Smith
|
| 1930 | The Open Championship (3) | 1 shot deficit | -2 (70-72-74-75=291) | 2 strokes | Leo Diegel, Macdonald Smith
|
1 Defeated Bobby Cruickshank in 18-hole playoff: Jones (76), Cruickshank (78)
2 Defeated Al Espinosa in 36-hole playoff: Jones (72-69=141), Espinosa (84-80=164)
Amateur majors:
- U.S. Amateur: 1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1930
- British Amateur: 1930
Films
Jones appeared in a series of short instructional films produced by Warner Brothers in 1931 titled How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones (12 films) and in 1933 titled How to Break 90 (6 films). Actors and actresses, mostly under contract with Warner Brothers, but also from other studios, volunteered to appear in these 18 episodes. Some of the more well known actors to appear in the instructional plots included James Cagney, Joe E. Brown, Edward G. Robinson, W.C. Fields, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Richard Barthelmess, Richard Arlen, Guy Kibbee, Warner Oland and Loretta Young. Various scenarios involving the actors were used to provide an opportunity for Jones to convey a lesson about a particular part of the game. The shorts were directed by the prolific George Marshall.
Jones was the subject of the quasi-biographical 2004 feature film Bobby Jones: A Stroke of Genius in which he was portrayed by James Caviezel. The film was a major box office flop, grossing only $1.2 million the first weekend and $2.7 million overall, against a production cost of over $17 million. The film was also littered with historical inaccuracies.
The Jones legend was also used to create a supporting character in The Legend of Bagger Vance in 2000, and the event where he called his own penalty is used for the main character, Rannulph Junuh.
Books
Jones authored several books on golf including Down the Fairway with O.B. Keeler (1927), The Rights and Wrongs of Golf (1933), Golf Is My Game (1959), Bobby Jones on Golf (1966), and Bobby Jones on the Basic Golf Swing (1968) with illustrator Anthony Ravielli.
Jones has been the subject of several books, most notably The Bobby Jones Story and A Boy's Life of Bobby Jones, both by O.B. Keeler. Other notable texts are The Life and Times of Bobby Jones: Portrait of a Gentleman by Sidney L. Matthew, and Triumphant Journey: The Saga of Bobby Jones and The Grand Slam of Golf by Richard Miller. Just recently published in 2006, "The Grand Slam" by Mark Frost, has received much note as being evocative of Jones's life and times.
The Bobby Jones Golf Company
Founded in 2003, the Bobby Jones Golf Company designs, develops and sells premium quality metal-woods. The company has an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with the family of Bobby Jones (known as Jonesheirs, Inc.) and the internationally renowned Hartmarx Corporation for the use of the Bobby Jones name for golf equipment and golf accessories, including items such as bags, balls, shoes, hats, gloves and other product lines. Under the agreement, the company has the exclusive sublicensing rights with third parties for the aforementioned items, including clubs.
Each club is hand-crafted by masterful club designer Jesse Ortiz, the same man who introduced the world to the TriMetal(TM) fairway wood in 1998. See [www.bobbyjonesgolf.net.]
See also
- Golfers with most PGA Tour wins
- Golfers with most major championship wins
External links
- bobbyjones.com
- World Golf Hall of Fame Profile
- Bobby Jones at Find-A-Grave
- Bobby Jones Profile at Golf Legends
- Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jones, Bobby |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jones, Robert Tyre; Jones, Bob |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American golfer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 17, 1902 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Atlanta, Georgia |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 18, 1971 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Atlanta, Georgia |
|
1895 Horace Rawlins · 1896 James Foulis · 1897 Joe Lloyd · 1898 Fred Herd · 1899 Willie Smith · 1900 Harry Vardon · 1901 Willie Anderson · 1902 Laurie Auchterlonie · 1903-04-05 Willie Anderson · 1906 Alex Smith · 1907 Alec Ross · 1908 Fred McLeod · 1909 George Sargent · 1910 Alex Smith · 1911-12 John McDermott · 1913 Francis Ouimet · 1914 Walter Hagen · 1915 Jerome Travers · 1916 Chick Evans · 1917-18 Cancelled due to World War I · 1919 Walter Hagen · 1920 Ted Ray · 1921 Jim Barnes · 1922 Gene Sarazen · 1923 Bobby Jones · 1924 Cyril Walker · 1925 Willie Macfarlane · 1926 Bobby Jones · 1927 Tommy Armour · 1928 Johnny Farrell · 1929-30 Bobby Jones · 1931 Billy Burke · 1932 Gene Sarazen · 1933 Johnny Goodman · 1934 Olin Dutra · 1935 Sam Parks, Jr. · 1936 Tony Manero · 1937-38 Ralph Guldahl · 1939 Byron Nelson · 1940 Lawson Little · 1941 Craig Wood · 1942-45 Cancelled due to World War II · 1946 Lloyd Mangrum · 1947 Lew Worsham · 1948 Ben Hogan · 1949 Cary Middlecoff · 1950-51 Ben Hogan · 1952 Julius Boros · 1953 Ben Hogan · 1954 Ed Furgol · 1955 Jack Fleck · 1956 Cary Middlecoff · 1957 Dick Mayer · 1958 Tommy Bolt · 1959 Billy Casper · 1960 Arnold Palmer · 1961 Gene Littler · 1962 Jack Nicklaus · 1963 Julius Boros · 1964 Ken Venturi · 1965 Gary Player · 1966 Billy Casper · 1967 Jack Nicklaus · 1968 Lee Trevino · 1969 Orville Moody · 1970 Tony Jacklin · 1971 Lee Trevino · 1972 Jack Nicklaus · 1973 Johnny Miller · 1974 Hale Irwin · 1975 Lou Graham · 1976 Jerry Pate · 1977 Hubert Green · 1978 Andy North · 1979 Hale Irwin · 1980 Jack Nicklaus · 1981 David Graham · 1982 Tom Watson · 1983 Larry Nelson · 1984 Fuzzy Zoeller · 1985 Andy North · 1986 Raymond Floyd · 1987 Scott Simpson · 1988-89 Curtis Strange · 1990 Hale Irwin · 1991 Payne Stewart · 1992 Tom Kite · 1993 Lee Janzen · 1994 Ernie Els · 1995 Corey Pavin · 1996 Steve Jones · 1997 Ernie Els · 1998 Lee Janzen · 1999 Payne Stewart · 2000 Tiger Woods · 2001 Retief Goosen · 2002 Tiger Woods · 2003 Jim Furyk · 2004 Retief Goosen · 2005 Michael Campbell · 2006 Geoff Ogilvy · 2007 Ángel Cabrera · 2008 Tiger Woods · 2009 Lucas Glover · 2010 Graeme McDowell · 2011 Rory McIlroy · 2012 Webb Simpson · 2013 Justin Rose · 2014 Martin Kaymer · 2015 Jordan Spieth |
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1860 Willie Park, Snr. · 1861-62 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1863 Willie Park, Snr. · 1864 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1865 Andrew Strath · 1866 Willie Park, Snr. · 1867 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1868-69-70 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1871 No championship · 1872 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1873 Tom Kidd · 1874 Mungo Park · 1875 Willie Park, Snr. · 1876 Bob Martin · 1877-78-79 Jamie Anderson · 1880-81-82 Bob Ferguson · 1883 Willie Fernie · 1884 Jack Simpson · 1885 Bob Martin · 1886 David Brown · 1887 Willie Park, Jnr. · 1888 Jack Burns · 1889 Willie Park, Jnr. · 1890 John Ball · 1891 Hugh Kirkaldy · 1892 Harold Hilton · 1893 William Auchterlonie · 1894-95 John Henry Taylor · 1896 Harry Vardon · 1897 Harold Hilton · 1898-99 Harry Vardon · 1900 John Henry Taylor · 1901 James Braid · 1902 Sandy Herd · 1903 Harry Vardon · 1904 Jack White · 1905-06 James Braid · 1907 Arnaud Massy · 1908 James Braid · 1909 John Henry Taylor · 1910 James Braid · 1911 Harry Vardon · 1912 Edward Ray · 1913 John Henry Taylor · 1914 Harry Vardon · 1915-19 No Championships due to World War I · 1920 George Duncan · 1921 Jock Hutchison · 1922 Walter Hagen · 1923 Arthur Havers · 1924 Walter Hagen · 1925 Jim Barnes · 1926-27 Bobby Jones · 1928-29 Walter Hagen · 1930 Bobby Jones· 1931 Tommy Armour · 1932 Gene Sarazen · 1933 Denny Shute · 1934 Henry Cotton · 1935 Alf Perry · 1936 Alf Padgham · 1937 Henry Cotton · 1939 Richard Burton (golfer) · 1940-45 No Championships due to World War II · 1946 Sam Snead · 1947 Fred Daly · 1948 Henry Cotton · 1949-50 Bobby Locke · 1951 Max Faulkner · 1952 Bobby Locke · 1953 Ben Hogan · 1954-55-56 Peter Thomson · 1957 Bobby Locke · 1958 Peter Thomson · 1959 Gary Player · 1960 Kel Nagle · 1961-62 Arnold Palmer · 1963 Bob Charles · 1964 Tony Lema · 1965 Peter Thomson · 1966 Jack Nicklaus · 1967 Roberto DeVicenzo · 1968 Gary Player · 1969 Tony Jacklin · 1970 Jack Nicklaus · 1971-72 Lee Trevino · 1973 Tom Weiskopf · 1974 Gary Player · 1975 Tom Watson · 1976 Johnny Miller · 1977 Tom Watson · 1978 Jack Nicklaus · 1979 Severiano Ballesteros · 1980 Tom Watson · 1981 Bill Rogers · 1982-83 Tom Watson · 1984 Severiano Ballesteros · 1985 Sandy Lyle · 1986 Greg Norman · 1987 Nick Faldo · 1988 Severiano Ballesteros · 1989 Mark Calcavecchia · 1990 Nick Faldo · 1991 Ian Baker-Finch · 1992 Nick Faldo · 1993 Greg Norman · 1994 Nick Price · 1995 John Daly · 1996 Tom Lehman · 1997 Justin Leonard · 1998 Mark O'Meara · 1999 Paul Lawrie · 2000 Tiger Woods · 2001 David Duval · 2002 Ernie Els · 2003 Ben Curtis · 2004 Todd Hamilton · 2005-06 Tiger Woods · 2007-08 Pádraig Harrington · 2009 Stewart Cink · 2010 Louis Oosthuizen · 2011 Darren Clarke · 2012 Ernie Els · 2013 Phil Mickelson · 2014 Rory McIlroy · 2015 Zach Johnson |
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