Academic

Bobby Jones And The Masters

By Tim Zinnecker

Many readers may have watched television coverage of the Masters golf tournament over the weekend.  Some readers may know that golf legend Bobby Jones founded / created the Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters tournament.

But did you know that Bobby Jones also was a lawyer?  He attended law school at Emory University in the 1920's.  He dropped out after one year to take (and pass) the bar exam, after which he joined his father?s firm.  Named in his honor, Emory established the Robert Trent Jones Jr. Scholarship Award in 1976.  The award provides a select number of Emory students with full tuition and a travel stipend for a year of study at Emory?s sister school in Scotland, the University of St. Andrews (the third oldest university in the English-speaking world, founded in 1413).  Golf fans will appreciate that St. Andrews is also known as "the home of golf."

Bobby Jones did play in the tournament he created, but his best finish at the Masters was 13th place.

For a wonderful book on the life of Bobby Jones, I highly recommend The Grand Slam:  Bobby Jones, America, and the Story of Golf (by Mark Frost).

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on April 13, 2009 (boomark / email).