September 27

Bobby Jones

September 27, 1930 - Atlanta

Tiger Woods hasn't done it. Jack Nicklaus didn't do it. But Atlanta's Bobby Jones did.  On this date in 1930, Jones became the first and only golfer to win the Grand Slam:  the U.S. Amateur, the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the British Amateur. 

Born in 1902, Jones learned to play golf at the East Lake Country Club in Atlanta. In eight seasons from 1923 to 1930, he won thirteen major championships, but no prize money. Always playing as an amateur, Jones preferred to focus on his education. He graduated from Georgia Tech, majored in English literature at Harvard, and passed the Georgia Bar after three semesters at Emory — all before he turned 30. 

After retiring from golf, Jones created the Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, which was first played in 1934. Tragically, he contracted a rare spinal disease in 1948 and was confined to a wheelchair until his death in 1971. But Bobby Jones assured his legacy as the greatest golfer ever on September 27, 1930, Today in Georgia History.