He wasn’t in the game for long but in that short time, there was no golfer better than Bobby Jones.
An attorney by trade who played golf strictly as an amateur, Jones dominated the sport for several years while in his 20s, then retired from the game at age 28 in 1930. He played in 31 major championships, winning 13 of them and finishing in the top 10 an amazing 27 times.
As the 2016 U.S. Open plays out in Pennsylvania this weekend, the RMY Auctions Photo of the Day captures Jones as he holds the 1929 Open trophy. It was the first U.S. Open played at Winged Foot, near New York City. Jones rallied to force a playoff by rolling in a long putt, then dominated in a 36-hole playoff over Al Espinosa.
The original news photo measures 8×10”. The 1929 title was Jones’ third overall and he’d win again in 1930 before calling it quits. Soon after, he’d co-designed the Augusta National course so he and his friends and founded the Masters Tournament.
There are several other vintage Jones photographs in the auction, which concludes Saturday night at RMYAuctions.com.