Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones Jr. (March 17, 1902 – December 18, 1971), born in Atlanta, Georgia, was one of the greatest golfers who ever competed on a national and international level. Of particular note in Jones' case, he participated only as an amateur in a sport long dominated by professionals, competed primarily on a part-time basis, and retired from competition by personal choice at the age of 28.

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 fourteen. As a youth he struggled with his temperament, but he hit his stride in 1923, when he won his first U.S. Open. From that win at Inwood through his 1930 victory in the U.S. Amateur he won 13 Major Championships (as they were counted at that time) out of twenty attempts, ranking him behind only Jack Nicklaus' 20 wins and Tiger Woods' 15 wins (including their US Amateur championships). Jones was the first player to win The Double, both the US Open and The 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 ten 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.

Jones was successful outside of golf as well. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Harvard University where he was a member of the Owl Club. After only one year in law school at Emory University, he passed the bar exam. When he retired from golf at the age of 28, he concentrated on his Atlanta law practice.

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. Until John Glenn, he was the only person ever to receive two ticker tape parades in New York City, the first in 1926 and the second in 1930.

Jones was not only a consummately skilled golfer, but he also exemplified the principles of sportsmanship and fair play. In the beginning of his amateur career, he was in the final playoff of the United States Open. 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 move of the ball. He immediately got angry with himself, turned to the marshals, and called a foul on himself. The marshals discussed among themselves and questioned some of the gallery if anyone had seen the foul. Their decision was that neither they nor anyone else had witnessed any foul, so the decision was left to Jones. Bobby Jones called the foul on himself. The marshal announced that Bobby Jones commanded an extremely high level of integrity, and that he was to be highly commended for this. Jones replied, "Do you commend a bank robber for not robbing a bank? No you don't. This is how the game of golf should be played at all times." Jones would lose the match by one stroke. The United States Golf Association's sportsmanship award is named the Bob Jones Award.

Jones also 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." 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 Emory University in Atlanta and the University of St Andrews. A similar exchange exists in Canada.


After his retirement from golf, Jones 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 himself serving as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Forces, Jones permitted the US Army to graze cattle on the grounds at Augusta National.

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 1971 and is buried in Atlanta's historic Oakland Cemetery. He became a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.

Jones was married in 1924 to the former Mary Rice Malone. They had three children, Clara, Robert Tyre III, and Mary Ellen Sue.