Sam Snead
| Sam Snead | |
|---|---|
| Personal Information | |
| Birth | May 27, 1912 Ashwood, Virginia |
| Death | May 23, 2002 (aged 89) |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Career | |
| Turned Pro | 1934 |
| Retired | 1979 |
| Professional wins (165) | |
| PGA Tour | 82 (1st all time) |
| Champions Tour | 14 |
| Other | 70 |
| Best Results in Major Championships Wins: 7 |
|
| Masters | Won 1949, 1952, 1954 |
| U.S. Open | 2nd/T2: 1937, 1947, 1949, 1953 |
| British Open | Won 1946 |
| PGA Championship | Won 1942, 1949, 1951 |
| Awards | |
| PGA Tour Money Winner |
1938, 1949, 1950 |
| PGA Player of the Year |
1949 |
| Vardon Trophy | 1938, 1949, 1950, 1955 |
Samuel Jackson "Sam" Snead (May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American golfer who was one of the top players 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 six 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. Despite his great achievements, his reputation has always been slightly tainted by his failure to win a U.S. Open. Snead shares the record for most second-place finishes in that championship (4) with four others; Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Phil Mickelson.
Snead was famed for his folksy image, wearing a straw hat, 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."[1] His nickname was "Slammin' Sammy." He has also been admired by many for having the so-called "perfect swing," and generated many imitators.
Snead was born in Ashwood, Virginia near Hot Springs, Virginia. At the age of seven, he began caddying at The Homestead in Hot Springs; he worked as an assistant pro at The Homestead at 19, and became a professional in 1934. Snead maintained ties to Hot Springs and The Homestead for all of his life; he died in Hot Springs following complications from a stroke 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. His nephew J. C. Snead was also a PGA Tour golfer.
Snead won the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998, and has been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
Contents |
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 years, 10 months, 8 days, making him the oldest player to win a PGA Tour event.[2]
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.
During his peak years, he was an exceptionally long driver, particularly into the wind, with very good accuracy as well. He was a superb player with the long irons. Snead was also known for a very creative short game, pioneering use of the sand wedge for short shots from grass. As he aged, his putting deteriorated. Snead pioneered croquet-style putting in the 1960s, where he straddled the ball with one leg on each side. The United States Golf Association banned this technique shortly afterwards, since until that time, golfers had always faced the ball when striking. Snead then went to side-saddle putting, where he crouched and angled his feet towards the hole, and held the club with a split grip. He used that style for the rest of his career.
In 1971, he won the PGA Club Professional 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 The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia.
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 1999, he was joined by Gene Sarazen, and until 2001, by Byron Nelson.
Snead wrote several golf instructional books, and frequently wrote instructional columns in golf magazines.
In 2000, he was ranked the third greatest golfer of all time, in Golf Digest magazine's rankings. Jack Nicklaus was first, and Ben Hogan was second.[3]
Records
From official PGA Tour site.
- 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.
He also held the record for most PGA Tour wins after reaching age 40, with 17, until it was broken at the 2007 Mercedes-Benz Championship by Vijay Singh.
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 (Dec.)
- 1938 (8) Bing Crosby Pro-Am, Greater Greensboro Open, Chicago Open, Canadian Open, Westchester 108 Hole Open, White Sulphur Springs Open, Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Vic Ghezzi), Palm Beach Round Robin
- 1939 (3) St. Petersburg Open, Miami Open, Miami Biltmore International 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 Invitational Four-Ball (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 Invitational Four-Ball (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.
Source: (Barkow 1989, pp. 259–260)
Other wins
this list is incomplete
- 1936 West Virginia Open
- 1937 West Virginia Open
- 1938 West Virginia Open
- 1948 West Virginia Open
- 1949 North and South Open, West Virginia Open
- 1952 West Virginia Open
- 1954 Panama Open
- 1957 West Virginia Open
- 1958 West Virginia Open
- 1960 West Virginia Open
- 1961 West Virginia Open
- 1964 Haig & Haig Scotch Foursome (with Shirley Englehorn)
- 1966 West Virginia Open
- 1967 West Virginia Open
- 1968 West Virginia Open
- 1970 West Virginia Open
- 1971 PGA Club Professional Championship, West Virginia Open
- 1972 West Virginia Open
- 1973 West Virginia Open
Senior wins (14)
- 1964 PGA Seniors' Championship, 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
- 1978 Legends of Golf (with Gardner Dickinson)
- 1980 Golf Digest Commemorative Pro-Am
- 1982 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Don January)
Major Championships
Wins (7)
| Year | Championship | 54 Holes | Winning Score | Margin | Runner(s) Up |
| 1942 | PGA Championship | N/A | 2 & 1 | 2 strokes |  Jim Turnesa |
| 1946 | The Open Championship | Tied for lead | -2 (71-70-74-75=290) | 4 strokes | Johnny Bulla,  Bobby Locke |
| 1949 | The Masters | 1 stroke deficit | -6 (73-75-67-67=282) | 3 strokes | Johnny Bulla, Lloyd Mangrum |
| 1949 | PGA Championship (2) | N/A | 3 & 2 | 3 strokes | Johnny Palmer |
| 1951 | PGA Championship (3) | N/A | 7 & 6 | 7 strokes | Walter Burkemo |
| 1952 | The Masters (2) | Tied for lead | -2 (70-67-77-72=286) | 4 strokes | Jack Burke, Jr. |
| 1954 | The Masters (3) | 3 shot deficit | +1 (74-73-70-72=289) | Playoff 1 | Ben Hogan |
Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958.
1 Defeated Ben Hogan in 18-hole playoff - Snead (70), Hogan (71)
Results timeline
| Tournament | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | 18 | T31 | 2 |
| U.S. Open | 2 | T38 | 5 |
| The Open Championship | T11 | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | R16 | F | DNP |
| Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | T7 | T6 | T7 | NT | NT | NT | T7 | T22 | T16 | 1 |
| U.S. Open | T16 | T13 | NT | NT | NT | NT | T19 | 2 | 5 | T2 |
| The Open Championship | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | 1 | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | F | QF | 1 | NT | DNP | DNP | R32 | R32 | QF | 1 |
| Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | 3 | T8 | 1 | T15 | 1 | 3 | T4 | 2 | 13 | T22 |
| U.S. Open | T12 | T10 | T10 | 2 | T11 | T3 | T24 | T8 | CUT | T8 |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | R32 | 1 | R64 | R32 | QF | R32 | QF | R16 | 3 | T8 |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | T11 | T15 | T15 | T3 | CUT | CUT | T42 | T10 | 42 | CUT |
| U.S. Open | T19 | T17 | T38 | T42 | T34 | T24 | DNP | DNP | T9 | T38 |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | T6 | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T3 | T27 | T17 | T27 | DNP | T6 | T6 | DNP | T34 | T63 |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | T23 | CUT | T27 | T29 | T20 | WD | CUT | WD | CUT | CUT |
| U.S. Open | CUT | DNP | DNP | T29 | DNP | CUT | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T12 | T34 | T4 | T9 | T3 | CUT | CUT | T54 | DNP | T42 |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | CUT | CUT | WD | WD |
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | WD | WD | DNP | DNP |
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R## — Round of 16, 32, etc. The PGA Championship was conducted at match play before 1958.
QF — Quarterfinal
SF — Semifinal
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Summary
- 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 - 6
Notes
- Snead was referenced in several jokes in the Peanuts comic strip in the 1950s and 1960s. Linus van Pelt has claimed to "have always kind of admired him", and Schroeder bragged that he was "going to be the Sam Snead of music!"
- 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).
- In 1987, Snead appeared opposite Tim Conway in Dorf's Golf Bible. Despite Snead's efforts, Dorf cannot follow through on even the simplest of Snead's instructions, prompting Snead's repeated pleas of "why don't you quit?"
- According to an edition of the Book of Sports Lists, Snead made a commercial for Bromo-Seltzer in which he said, "On the day of atonement, I cannot afford to be sick." It was a while before the Jewish audience realized Sammy was not referring to Yom Kippur, but "could not pronounce 'tournament' like other white folk."
- West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg paid tribute to Sam Snead in his song of the same title.
- Snead was so flexible and coordinated that for most of his adult life, he was able to stand on one foot and kick the other foot high enough to touch the top of a seven-foot high door frame without losing his balance.
See also
- Golfers with most PGA Tour wins
- Golfers with most wins in men's major championships
- Most PGA Tour wins in a year
- Most wins in one PGA Tour event
References
- ↑ The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations, ed. Jim Apfelbaum. 2007.
- ↑ "Oldest PGA Tour Winners".
- ↑ Yocom, Guy (July 2000). "50 Greatest Golfers of All Time: And What They Taught Us". Golf Digest. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
Barkow, Al (1989), The History of the PGA TOUR, Doubleday, ISBN 0-385-26145-4
External links
- World Golf Hall of Fame profile
- about.com profile Profile, stats and quotes
- Sam Snead Profile at Golf Legends
- Photos of Sam Snead at Palm Beach Golf Classic
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