Bobby Jones.

Bobby Jones. I INTRODUCTION Bobby Jones (1902-1971), American amateur golfer, winner of the grand slam of golf in 1930 and founder of the prestigious golf tournament, the Masters. Jones is widely considered the most accomplished amateur competitor in the history of the sport. II EARLY CAREER Robert Tyre (Bobby) Jones, Jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He took up golf at age five. Jones quickly became a junior champion and qualified for his first United States Amateur Championship at age 14. He was educated at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), Harvard University, and Emory University, eventually earning a law degree. A perfectionist, Jones struggled with his temper on the golf course as a teenager. His first major win came at the United States Open golf championship in 1923. He captured his first U.S. Amateur title a year later. III ACCOMPLISHMENTS During a remarkable eight-year stretch, Jones won 13 major championships: five U.S. Amateurs (1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1930), four United States Opens (1923, 1926, 1929, 1930), three British Opens (1926, 1927, 1930), and a British Amateur title (1930). He was the first player to win both the U.S. and British Open championships in the same year (1927) and the first player to win all four of these major tournaments in one year (1930). Today, Jones's 1930 season is considered the first and only "grand slam" in golf history. IV RETIREMENT As an amateur, Jones received no prize money for his victories. With nothing more left to accomplish, he retired at age 28 from active competition. In the early 1930s he helped design Augusta National, a private golf course built on a former plant nursery in Augusta, Georgia. In 1934 the course hosted the first Augusta National Invitation Tournament, renamed the Masters in 1939. The tournament became an annual event, attracting the top professional and amateur golfers from around the world. It is still the only major golf tournament held at the same course every year. Jones played in the Masters during the tournament's early years, but in the late 1940s he developed a spinal condition that forced him to give up the sport. He continued to work on the Masters and as an ambassador for golf for the rest of his life. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.