Mr. Bobby Jones

Trivia: “What event signalled golf’s status as a global sport? A) The creation of the Grand Slam B) British golfer Harry Vardon’s participation in the U.S. Open C) The late 19th-century formation of the R&A and the USGA D) Golf’s designation as an Olympic sport in 1900” Answer below.

It’s been a pretty crazy several days, and that has obviously impacted my blogging. Happily, this blip is over and things are once again settling down to the incredible life we can all lead!

Speaking of incredible lives, I stumbled across this brief biography on one of the greatest golfers, and greatest gentlemen, of all time, the one and only Mr. Bobby Jones.

You can find the full biography on mobile wiki-like encyclopaedia, Wapedia, here.

And here’s an excerpt that appears below the title “Sportsmanship”.

“Jones was not only a consummately skilled golfer, but he also exemplified the principles of sportsmanship and fair play. Early in his amateur career, he was in the final playoff of the 1925 U.S. Open at the Worcester Country Club. 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 movement of the ball. He immediately got angry with himself, turned to the marshals, and called a penalty on himself. The marshals discussed among themselves and questioned some of the gallery if anyone had seen Jones' ball move. Their decision was that neither they nor anyone else had witnessed any incident, so the decision was left to Jones. Bobby Jones called the two-stroke penalty on himself, not knowing that he would lose the tournament by one stroke. When he was praised for his gesture, Jones replied, "You may as well praise a man for not robbing a bank." The USGA's sportsmanship award is named the Bob Jones Award in his honor [sic].”

The image is a painting by Thomas E. Stephens, Welsh-American (1885-1966), oil on canvas. It was found on The Fine Arts Conservancy website.

And the answer: “D) Golf’s designation as an Olympic sport in 1900. That inaugural year and the following 1904 Olympics, however, were the only times golf was included in the Games.”