| Clifford ROBERTS | |
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Clifford Roberts nacque il 6 marzo del 1894 a Morning Sun nello Iowa e fu un banchiere ed un amministratore nel campo del Golf.
Clifford, che non aveva un elevato grado di scolarità, ebbe un infanzia travagliata e girò gli States cambiando continuamente lavoro, finché non decise che il suo campo era la finanza.
Divenuto un banchiere famoso, partecipava spesso ai Bridge organizzati alla Casa Bianca dal Presidente Eisenhower.
Fu Presidente dell'Augusta National Golf Club per 45 anni e nel 1978 venne eletto nella Hall of Fame del Golf USA.
Si suicidò sparandosi un colpo sulle rive del laghetto Ike del Golf Club di cui era stato il più illustre Presidente di sempre, il 29 settembre del 1977. Le sue condizioni di salute erano precarie da diversi mesi.
Clifford Roberts (March
6, 1894 – September 29, 1977) was an American
investment dealer and Golf administrator.
Born in Morning Sun, Iowa, Roberts had a troubled family life as a boy, and left school in the ninth grade. He worked at a great variety of jobs all around the United States, and eventually chose the investment industry for his career.
He served as Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club from 1931 through 1976, and
was named "Chairman in Memoriam" after his death. He also served as Chairman of
the Masters Tournament from 1934 through 1976.
An investment banker on Wall Street from the late 1920s, Roberts was a partner
with Reynolds & Company. He was the co-founder with Bobby Jones of the Augusta
National Golf Club. In the early years, he and Jones personally extended
invitations to the tournament. Roberts' friendship with American president
Dwight Eisenhower led to the Eisenhowers making Augusta National their retreat
during the 1950s.
Roberts was sometimes described as a 'benevolent dictator'. Roberts received many awards and honors during his lifetime, including service on the PGA Advisory Committee from its inception in 1943 until his death, appointment by the United States Golf Association to serve on the Bob Jones Award Selection Committee, and election to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1978.
He used to participate at the Bridge in the White House with Eisenhower.
He was the author of The Story of the Augusta National Golf Club, published in 1976, and a subject of a book titled, The Making of the Masters, Clifford Roberts, Augusta National, and Golf's Most Prestigious Tournament, by David Owen, published in 1999.
Roberts, age 83, committed suicide by gunshot in 1977 on the banks of Ike's Pond at Augusta National. He had been in ill health for several months.
