Sam Snead

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Samuel Jackson "Sam" Snead (May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was one of the top golfers in the world for most of 4 decades. He and two others of the greatest golfers of all time, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson, were born within 6 months of each other in 1912. He won a record 82 PGA Tour events and about 70 others worldwide. He won seven majors: three Masters, three PGA Championships and one British Open. In spite of his great achievements, his reputation has always been slightly tainted by his failure to win a U.S. Open.

Snead was famed for his folksy image, wearing a straw hat and playing tournaments barefoot, and making such statements as "Keep close count of your nickels and dimes, stay away from whiskey, and never concede a putt." His nickname was "Slammin' Sammy."

Snead was born in Ashwood, Virginia near Hot Springs, Virginia where he died four days short of his 90th birthday. He was survived by two sons, Sam Jr., of Hot Springs, Virginia and Terry, of Mountain Grove, Virginia; a brother, Pete, of Pittsburgh; and two grandchildren. His wife, Audrey, died in 1990.

Snead won the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998, and has been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

[edit] Career

In 1937, his first year on the Tour, he won five events, including the Oakland Open at Claremont Country Club in California.

In 1938, he first won the Greater Greensboro Open, which he won eight times, the Tour record for victories at an event, concluding in 1965 at the age of 52, making him the oldest player to win a PGA Tour event.

1939 was the first of several times he failed at crucial moments of the U.S. Open, the only major event he never won.

He won 11 events in 1950. No one has since won more in one year.

He won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average four times: 1938, 1949, 1950, and 1955.

He played on seven Ryder Cup teams: 1937, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1955, and 1959, and captained the team in 1951, 1959, and 1969.

In 1971, he won the PGA Professional National Championship.

In 1974, at age 62, he shot a one-under-par 279 to come in third (three strokes behind winner Lee Trevino) at the PGA Championship at Tanglewood in Clemmons, North Carolina.

In 1978 he won the first Legends of Golf event, which was the impetus for the creation two years later of the Senior PGA TOUR, now known as the Champions Tour.

In 1979 he was the youngest PGA Tour golfer to shoot his age (67) in the second round of the 1979 Quad Cities Open. He shot under his age (66) in the final round.

In 1983, at age 71, he shot a round of 60 (12-under-par) at the Homestead in Hot Springs.

In 1997, at age 85, he shot a round of 78 at the Old White course of The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

In 1998, he received the fourth PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award.

From 1984 to 2002, he hit the honorary starting tee shot at The Masters. Until 2001, he was joined by Byron Nelson, and until 1999, by Gene Sarazen.

[edit] Records

• Most PGA Tour victories: 82
• Most PGA Tour victories at an event: 8 at the Greater Greensboro Open (1938, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1955, 1956, 1960, 1965)
• Oldest player to win a PGA Tour event: age 52 years, 10 months, 8 days at the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open
• First PGA Tour player to shoot his age: 67 in the second round of the 1979 Quad Cities Open
• Oldest player to make a cut on the PGA Tour: age 67 years, 2 months, 21 days at the 1979 Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic.
• Most PGA Tour victories after the age of 40: 17 (tied with Vijay Singh)

PGA Tour records

[edit] PGA Tour wins (82)

• 1936 (1) West Virginia Closed Pro
• 1937 (5) Oakland Open, Bing Crosby Pro-Am, St. Paul Open, Nassau Open, Miami Open
• 1938 (8) Bing Crosby Pro-Am, Greater Greensboro Open, Chicago Open, Canadian Open, Westchester 108 Hole Open, White Sulphur Springs Open, Inverness Invitational (with Vic Ghezzi), Palm Beach Round Robin
• 1939 (3) St. Petersburg Open, Miami Open, Miami-Biltmore Four-Ball (with Ralph Guldahl)
• 1940 (3) Canadian Open, Anthracite Open, Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Ralph Guldahl)
• 1941 (6) Bing Crosby Pro-Am, St. Petersburg Open, North and South Open, Canadian Open, Rochester Times Union Open, Henry Hurst Invitational
• 1942 (2) St. Petersburg Open, PGA Championship
• 1944 (2) Portland Open, Richmond Open
• 1945 (6) Los Angeles Open, Gulfport Open, Pensacola Open, Jacksonville Open, Dallas Open, Tulsa Open
• 1946 (6) Jacksonville Open, Greater Greensboro Open, The Open Championship (not counted as a PGA Tour win at the time, but designated as such in 2002), World Championship of Golf, Miami Open, Virginia Open
• 1948 (1) Texas Open
• 1949 (6) Greater Greensboro Open, The Masters, Washington Star Open, Dapper Dan Open, Western Open, PGA Championship
• 1950 (11) Los Angeles Open, Bing Crosby Pro-Am (tie with Jack Burke, Jr, Smiley Quick, Dave Douglas), Texas Open, Miami Beach Open, Greater Greensboro Open, Western Open, Colonial National Invitation, Inverness Four-Ball Invitational (with Jim Ferrier), Reading Open, North and South Open, Miami Open
• 1951 (2) PGA Championship, Miami Open
• 1952 (5) The Masters, Palm Beach Round Robin, Inverness Round Robin Invitational (with Jim Ferrier), All American Open, Eastern Open
• 1953 (1) Baton Rouge Open
• 1954 (2) The Masters, Palm Beach Round Robin
• 1955 (4) Greater Greensboro Open, Palm Beach Round Robin, Insurance City Open, Miami Open
• 1956 (1) Greater Greensboro Open
• 1957 (2) Dallas Open Invitational, Palm Beach Round Robin
• 1958 (1) Dallas Open Invitational
• 1960 (2) De Soto Open Invitational, Greater Greensboro Open
• 1961 (1) Tournament of Champions
• 1965 (1) Greater Greensboro Open

Major championships are shown in bold.

[edit] Senior wins (13)

• 1963 PGA Seniors' Championship
• 1964 World Seniors
• 1965 PGA Seniors' Championship, World Seniors
• 1967 PGA Seniors' Championship
• 1970 PGA Seniors' Championship, World Seniors
• 1972 PGA Seniors' Championship, World Seniors
• 1973 PGA Seniors' Championship, World Seniors
• 1980 Golf Digest Commemorative Pro-Am
• 1982 Legends of Golf (with Don January)

[edit] Results in major championships

NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary of major championship performances:

• Starts - 117
• Wins - 7
• 2nd place finishes - 8
• Top 3 finishes - 22
• Top 5 finishes - 29
• Top 10 finishes - 48
• Longest Streak of Top 10s in majors - 3

[edit] Trivia

• Snead was referenced in several jokes in the Peanuts comic strip in the 1950s and 1960s. Linus Van Pelt has claimed to "have always sort of admired him".
• Snead hit the Wrigley Field scoreboard with a golf ball teed off from home plate.
• Snead once appeared in an episode of The Phil Silvers Show (Sergeant Bilko).

[edit] See also

• Golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• Golfers with most wins in men's major championships
• Most PGA Tour wins in a year

[edit] External links

• Golf Stars Online - links to features and profiles
• about.com profile Profile, stats and quotes
• Sam Snead Profile at Golf Legends
• Photos of Sam Snead at Palm Beach Golf Classic