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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.

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]

Contents 1 Early years 2 First majors 3 Sportsmanship 4 St Andrews, Scotland 5 University, family, career 6 Incapacity and death 7 Major championships 7.1 Wins (7) 7.2 U.S. Open timeline 7.3 Other records 8 Films 9 Books 10 The Bobby Jones Golf Company 11 See also 12 References 13 External links

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. That same year, 1916, he won the Georgia State Amateur Championship for his first important title (http://www.gsga.org). He was trained and coached by club professional Stewart Maiden, a native of Carnoustie, 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 United States during World War I from 1917-1918, playing exhibition matches before large crowds to generate income for war relief. He qualified for his first U.S. Open at age 18 in 1920.

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. 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 (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'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 received two ticker-tape parades in New York City, the first in 1926 and the second in 1930. Jones is memorialized in Augusta, Georgia at the Golf Gardens and has the Bobby Jones Expressway, also known as Interstate 520, named for him.

Jones was not only a consummately skilled golfer, but he also exemplified the principles of sportsmanship and fair play. Early in his amateur career, he was in the final playoff of the 1925 U.S. Open at the Worcester 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 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.

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." 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 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. 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 either university. A similar exchange exists in Canada between the University of St Andrews 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.

Jones was successful outside of golf as well. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1922, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, and played for the golf team. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Harvard University in 1924, where he was a member of the Owl Club. 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. He did in fact turn professional at golf after he retired from competition, in order to accept fees. 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.

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 (The Making of the Masters, by David Owen).

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 December of 1971, about a week after becoming a Catholic, and was buried in Atlanta's historic Oakland Cemetery. He became a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.

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

It is noteworthy that National Amateur championships were counted as majors until quite recently. Jones' actual major total using the standard in place in his lifetime was 13.

1920	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930
T8	T5	T2	1	2	2	1	T11	2	1	1

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Jones' four titles in the U.S. Open remain tied for the most ever in that championship, along with Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus. His four second-place finishes in the U.S. Open also tie that record, along with Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, and Phil Mickelson. His five titles in the U.S. Amateur are a record. Jones was ranked as the fourth greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine in 2000. Jack Nicklaus was first, Ben Hogan second, and Sam Snead third.^[2]

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.

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, The Greatest Player Who Never Lived by J. Michael Veron, and Triumphant Journey: The Saga of Bobby Jones and The Grand Slam of Golf by Richard Miller. Published in 2006, "The Grand Slam" by Mark Frost has received much note as being evocative of Jones' life and times.

Founded in 2003, the Bobby Jones Golf Company designs, develops, and sells metal-wood golf clubs. 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.^[3]

• Golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• Golfers with most major championship wins
• List of ticker-tape parades in New York City

• 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
• SoHG Archives
• Analysis of Bobby Jones Golf Swing
• The Immortal Bobby by Bernard Darwin

v • d • e U.S. Open champions

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 Willie Anderson · 1904 Willie Anderson · 1905 Willie Anderson · 1906 Alex Smith · 1907 Alec Ross · 1908 Fred McLeod · 1909 George Sargent · 1910 Alex Smith · 1911 John McDermott · 1912 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 Bobby Jones · 1930 Bobby Jones · 1931 Billy Burke · 1932 Gene Sarazen · 1933 Johnny Goodman · 1934 Olin Dutra · 1935 Sam Parks, Jr. · 1936 Tony Manero · 1937 Ralph Guldahl · 1938 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 Ben Hogan · 1951 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 Curtis Strange · 1989 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

v • d • e The Open champions

1860 Willie Park, Snr. · 1861 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1862 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1863 Willie Park, Snr. · 1864 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1865 Andrew Strath · 1866 Willie Park, Snr. · 1867 Tom Morris, Sr. · 1868 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1869 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1870 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1871 No championship · 1872 Tom Morris, Jr. · 1873 Tom Kidd · 1874 Mungo Park · 1875 Willie Park, Snr. · 1876 Bob Martin · 1877 Jamie Anderson · 1878 Jamie Anderson · 1879 Jamie Anderson · 1880 Bob Ferguson · 1881 Bob Ferguson · 1882 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 John Henry Taylor · 1895 John Henry Taylor · 1896 Harry Vardon · 1897 Harold Hilton · 1898 Harry Vardon · 1899 Harry Vardon · 1900 John Henry Taylor · 1901 James Braid · 1902 Sandy Herd · 1903 Harry Vardon · 1904 Jack White · 1905 James Braid · 1906 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 Bobby Jones · 1927 Bobby Jones · 1928 Walter Hagen · 1929 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 · 1940-45 No Championships due to World War II · 1946 Sam Snead · 1947 Fred Daly · 1948 Henry Cotton · 1949 Bobby Locke · 1950 Bobby Locke · 1951 Max Faulkner · 1952 Bobby Locke · 1953 Ben Hogan · 1954 Peter Thomson · 1955 Peter Thomson · 1956 Peter Thomson · 1957 Bobby Locke · 1958 Peter Thomson · 1959 Gary Player · 1960 Kel Nagle · 1961 Arnold Palmer · 1962 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 Lee Trevino · 1972 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 Tom Watson · 1983 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 Tiger Woods · 2006 Tiger Woods · 2007 Pádraig Harrington

v • d • e Male golfers who have won 2 or more Major Championships in one year

1922 Gene Sarazen (2) · 1924 Walter Hagen (2) · 1926 Bobby Jones (2) · 1930 Bobby Jones (2) · 1932 Gene Sarazen (2) · 1949 Sam Snead (2) · 1951 Ben Hogan (2) · 1953 Ben Hogan (3) · 1960 Arnold Palmer (2) · 1962 Arnold Palmer (2) · 1963 Jack Nicklaus (2) · 1966 Jack Nicklaus (2) · 1971 Lee Trevino (2) · 1972 Jack Nicklaus (2) · 1974 Gary Player (2) · 1975 Jack Nicklaus (2) · 1977 Tom Watson (2) · 1980 Jack Nicklaus (2) · 1982 Tom Watson (2) · 1990 Nick Faldo (2) · 1994 Nick Price (2) · 1998 Mark O'Meara (2) · 2000 Tiger Woods (3) · 2002 Tiger Woods (2) · 2005 Tiger Woods (2) · 2006 Tiger Woods (2)

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