Robert Tyre Jones Jr. (March 17, 1902 – December 18, 1971) was an American amateur golfer who was one of the most influential figures in the history of the sport; he was also a lawyer by profession.
Jones founded and helped design the Augusta National Golf Club, and co-founded the Masters Tournament.
The innovations that he introduced at the Masters have been copied by virtually every professional golf tournament in the world.
Jones was the most successful amateur golfer ever to compete at a national and international level.
Jones was born on March 17, 1902, in Atlanta, Georgia.
He battled health issues as a young boy, and golf was prescribed to strengthen him.
Encouraged by his father, "Colonel" Robert Purmedus Jones, an Atlanta lawyer, Jones loved golf from the start.
He developed quickly into a child prodigy who won his first children's tournament at the age of six at his home course at East Lake Golf Club.
1916
In 1916, Jones won his first major golf event when he claimed the inaugural Georgia Amateur Championship conducted by the Georgia State Golf Association at the Capital City Club, in Brookhaven, at age 14.
His victory at this event put him in the national spotlight for the first time.
The Georgia Amateur win caught the eye of the United States Golf Association which awarded Jones his first invitation to the U.S. Amateur at Merion near Philadelphia.
Jones advanced to the quarterfinals in his first playing in the event.
He was influenced by club professional Stewart Maiden, a native of Carnoustie, Scotland.
Maiden was the professional at the Atlanta Athletic Club's East Lake Golf Club, who also trained Alexa Stirling, the three-time winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur, who was five years older than Jones but also a prodigy at East Lake.
Jones also received golf lessons from Willie Ogg when he was in his teenage years.
Jones played frequently with his father, a skilled golfer himself.
The younger Jones sometimes battled his own temper on the course, but later controlled his emotions as he became more experienced.
1917
Jones toured the U.S. during World War I from 1917 to 1918, playing exhibition matches before large crowds, often with Alexa Stirling and Perry Adair, to generate income for war relief.
Playing in front of such crowds in these matches helped him, as he moved into national competition a bit later on.
1919
Jones successfully represented the United States for the first time, in two winning international amateur team matches against Canada, in 1919 and 1920, earning three of a possible four points in foursomes and singles play.
In 1919 he traveled to Hamilton Golf and Country Club, for his first serious competitive action outside the U.S., while in 1920, Engineers Country Club, in Roslyn, Long Island, hosted the matches.
Still a teenager, he was by far the youngest player in the series.
Jones also played in the 1919 Canadian Open while in Hamilton, Ontario, performing very well to place tied for second, but 16 shots behind winner J. Douglas Edgar.
Edgar had immigrated from England in 1919 to take a club professional's job in Atlanta at Druid Hills Golf Club; Edgar mentored and played frequently with Jones from 1919 to 1921.
1923
During his peak from 1923 to 1930, he dominated top-level amateur competition, and competed very successfully against the world's best professional golfers.
Jones often beat stars such as Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen, the era's top pros.
Jones earned his living mainly as a lawyer, and competed in golf only as an amateur, primarily on a part-time basis, and chose to retire from competition at age 28, though he earned significant money from golf after that, as an instructor and equipment designer.
Explaining his decision to retire, Jones said, "It [championship golf] 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."
1930
Jones is most famous for his unique "Grand Slam," consisting of his victory in all four major golf tournaments of his era (the open and amateur championships in both the U.S. and the U.K.) in a single calendar year (1930).
In all Jones played in 31 majors, winning 13 and placing among the top ten finishers 27 times.
After retiring from competitive golf in 1930, Jones founded and helped design the Augusta National Golf Club soon afterwards in 1933.
1934
He also co-founded the Masters Tournament, which has been annually staged by the club since 1934 (except for 1943–45, when it was canceled due to World War II).
The Masters evolved into one of golf's four major championships.
Jones came out of retirement in 1934 to play in the Masters on an exhibition basis through 1948.
1948
Jones played his last round of golf at East Lake Golf Club, his home course in Atlanta, on August 18, 1948.
A picture commemorating the event now sits in the clubhouse at East Lake.
Citing health reasons, he quit golf permanently thereafter.
Bobby Jones was often confused with the prolific golf course designer Robert Trent Jones, with whom he worked from time to time.
"People always used to get them confused, so when they met, they decided each be called something different," Robert Trent Jones Jr. said.
To help avoid confusion, the golfer was called "Bobby," and the golf course designer was called "Trent."
