Robert Tyre Jones, Jr.

ROBERT TYRE "BOBBY" JONES
MARCH 17, 1902 ~ DECEMBER 18, 1971


I have never played a round of golf in my life; however, there is one golf tournament that I always watch, "The Masters Tournament". The Masters has been played on the same course, Augusta National Golf Club, since 1934. This year, The Master will commence this Thursday with the fourth and final round being played on Sunday, April 13th. Last year, this tournament had a purse of over seven million dollars, but more importantly, the winner of the tournament is awarded a green blazer. By tournament rules, the winner is allowed to wear the blazer the year it is won. The blazer is then returned to the club to be put on display. Once a golfer wins this tournament, they have earned the right to play the tournament each year the rest of their lives. The world's greatest golfers have played this course and this tournament, without being awarded the Green Blazer.

This tournament is steeped with history and tradition. A good example is the Eisenhower Tree. President Dwight Eisenhower played this course on a regular basis and on numerous occasions kept hitting the same tree with his ball. He appealed to the Board of Directors to remove the tree. To protect the tree from being cut down in the future, the Board of Directors voted to name the tree after the President. Today, a memorial plague is displayed on the tree.

"Bobby" Jones was born in Atlanta, Georgia. In his childhood, he was a sickly boy and during his childhood had to be fed liquids. His father, Colonel Robert P. Jones was an avid golfer. Living close to a golf course, he would watch the adults play and in time would follow them around the course. At age five, he picked up his first golf club and started playing on his home lawn. In time, he would follow the better known golfers and study their swings and how they dressed the ball. He never had golf lessons as a child. At age six, he won his first Children's Tournament and continued to practice his game. In 1916, he won the Georgia State Amateur tournament at age fourteen. Unknown to anyone at the time, little "Bobby" Jones would become most likely the best golfer that has ever played the game.

Being the age that he was, he did have an uncontrollable temper and was reprimanded on numerous occasions by the golfing officials, at one time he was barred from playing until he could convince the directors that he would control his temper. The first time that he played on "Old Course" in St. Andrews, Scotland for the Open Championship, he withdrew from play after eleven holes in the third round and was quite vocal how he hated the course. Being insulted by his actions, the press wrote, "Master Bobby is just a boy, and an ordinary boy at that". He would later win this tournament on the same course, being awarded the trophy for the Championship, he won back the crowd by asking that the trophy remain at the 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.

During World War I (1917 - 1918) at the age of fifteen, he toured the United States playing exhibition matches to generate income for the war relief. He qualified for his first U.S. Open at age 18 in 1920 and would win the Southern Amateur three times, 1917, 1920, and 1922.

In 1923, he hit his stride and won his first U.S. Open and during the next seven years, he would win thirteen Major Championships. Bobby Jones was the first golfer to win "the Double", the U.S. Open, and the British Open in the same year, 1926. Jones is considered one of the five giants of the 1920s sports scenes, along with Babe Ruth, boxer Jack Dempsey, football player Red Grange and tennis player Bill Tilden.

While winning the majority of the golfing tournaments, he was also attending college. He would earn two college degrees, one in Law and a second Bachelor Degree in English Literature from Harvard. After earning his degree in Law, he would spend only one year in Law School at Emory University before passing his bar examination. Jones was married in 1924 to Mary Rice Malone and they would have three children. The childhood illness had continued into his adult life in time was diagnosed as syringomyelia, a fluid filled cavity in his spinal cord that caused first pain then paralysis. During World War II, he would serve in the U.S. Army at the rank of Major.

"Bobby Jones" exemplified the word sportsmanship". While playing in the U.S. Open in 1925 he was in the final playoff. He hit his ball into the rough, while setting up to play his shot; his iron caused a slight movement of the ball. He called the Marshall's in and declared a penalty on himself. The Marshals conferred with one another and questioned some of the spectators in the gallery. No one had witnessed the movement of the ball. Jones, called the two stroke penalty on himself knowing that he would lose the tournament by one stroke. The United States Golf Association's sportsmanship award is named the Bob Jones Award in his honor.

Despite being credited as the best golfer in the world, he felt that he had not yet reached his destiny in golf. Despite his illness and being in constant pain, he wanted to win "The Grand Slam”, a feat that had never been accomplished. In 1930, he would fulfill his destiny by winning the Open Championship; U.S. Open Championship; U.S. Men's Amateur Championship and the British Open Championship. Following the winning of the 1930 Grand Slam, he would have his second "ticker tape" parade down Broadway in New York City. A few days later, he announced his retirement from golf.

"Bobby" Jones is the only golfer in the history of the game to win "The Grand Slam”. The only golfer that has won all four of these major tournaments is Tiger Woods; however, it took him two years to accomplish the feat. In his tournament play, "Bobby" Jones never played a metal golf club, primarily because they had not yet been developed. He won all of his tournaments using oak wood shafts. Although, well deserving to be called the world's greatest golfer, I feel his greatest attribute is that he played the game for one reason. "Bobby" Jones never played competitive golf as a Professional or joined the Professional Golfing Association. When asked why he refused to become a Professional and play for money, he replied, "I play golf because I love the game, when you play for money you loose that love".

Following his retirement from competitive golf, he purchased property in Augusta, Georgia and developed a golf course of his own design. The name of that golf course is the Augusta National Golf Course. During World War II, while serving in the Army, he allowed the Army to graze their cattle on the grounds of August National. "Bobby" Jones is the founder of "The Masters Tournament", a tournament that he would play in as a good will effort but never in competition to win due to his health. He remained active in organizing the tournament, despite being confined to a wheel chair until his death in 1971. "A simple plaque is erected at his memorial site at August National, the inscription is simple; "Bobby Jones" "For Love Of The Game".