Bobby Jones: Golf
Robert Tyre “Bobby” Jones Jr. (March 17, 1902 – December 18, 1971) was the greatest amateur golfer ever, dominating the sport in the 1920s. He was also a lawyer by profession. Jones became the most successful amateur golfer to compete on national and international levels. He started playing as a child and when he was nine, he won his first tournament. When he was fourteen, he made it to the third round of the US National Amateur tournament. Bobby Jones was credited with making golf one of the most popular sports in the country.
Greatest Sporting Achievements
During the eight seasons from 1923-1930, he won thirteen major championships including five US Amateurs, four US Opens, three British Opens and one British Amateur. Bobby Jones is the only man to win all four major titles in one season, completing the “Grand Slam” in golf when he was only 28 years old.
In 1974, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. In 1964, he was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
Why Was He So Good?
For Bobby Jones, golf wasn’t just a passion – it was almost an obsession. Even when he studied, he continued to play golf and his skills were so astonishing that he became one of the most admired sports stars during the 1920s. He was an intense and unspoiled man who started early on the road to success. Jones is considered to be the supreme and mighty champion of golf – an amateur golfer considered by many to be the best player ever to swing a club.
What You May Not Know
- Bobby Jones still got nervous during major tournaments that his stomach couldn’t hold anything heavy except dry toast and tea.
- As a boy, he took up golf because he was deemed “too sickly” for football.
- Jones, as a child, was short tempered. He would throw the club around the place.
- Bobby Jones retired at the age of 28 to devote more time to his family and his law practice.
Related Pages
- More legendary Golf players
- Athlete Database home
- About the sport of Golf
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