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Sam Snead
Snead in 1967.
Personal information
Full name	Samuel Jackson Snead
Nickname	Slammin' Sammy
Born	(1912-05-27)May 27, 1912 Ashwood, Virginia
Died	May 23, 2002(2002-05-23) (aged 89) Hot Springs, Virginia
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Nationality	United States
Career
Turned professional	1934
Retired	1987
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	165
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	82 (1st all time)
LPGA Tour	1
Other	69 (regular) 14 (senior)
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 7)
Masters Tournament	Won: 1949, 1952, 1954
U.S. Open	2nd/T2: 1937, 1947, 1949, 1953
The Open Championship	Won: 1946
PGA Championship	Won: 1942, 1949, 1951
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	1974 (member page)
PGA Tour leading money winner	1938, 1949, 1950
PGA Player of the Year	1949
Vardon Trophy	1938, 1949, 1950, 1955
PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award	1998

Samuel Jackson Snead (May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for most of four decades. Snead won a record 82 PGA Tour events including seven majors. He failed to win a U.S. Open, though he was runner-up four times.

Snead's nickname was "Slammin' Sammy." He was admired by many for having the so-called "perfect swing," and generated many imitators. 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] He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974, and received the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.

Personal[link]

Snead was born in Ashwood, Virginia near Hot Springs. 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 turned professional in 1934. Snead was self-taught. He joined the PGA Tour in 1936, and achieved immediate success. In 1944 he became head pro at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Snead maintained ties to Hot Springs and The Homestead for all of his life.

He served in the United States military during World War II, from 1942 to 1945.^[2]

Career[link]

In 1937, Snead's first full 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. He won that event a total of eight times, the Tour record, concluding in 1965 at the age of &1000000000000005200000052 years, &10000000000000311000000311 days, making him the oldest player to win a PGA Tour event.^[3]

The year 1939 was the first of several times he failed at crucial moments of the U.S. Open, the only major event he never won. Needing par to win, but not knowing this, since on-course scoreboards did not exist at that time, he posted an 8 on the par-5 72nd hole. Snead had been told on the 18th tee by a spectator that he needed a birdie to win.^[2]

At the U.S. Open in 1947, Snead missed a 2¹⁄₂-foot putt on the final playoff hole to lose to Lew Worsham.

In 1950, he won 11 events. 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.

At the 1952 Jacksonville Open, Snead forfeited rather than play a 18-hole playoff against Doug Ford after the two golfers finished in a tie at the end of regulation play. The forfeit stemmed from a ruling Snead received during the tournament's second round of play. On the 10th hole, Snead's drive landed behind an out of bounds stake. While Chick Harbert who was playing with Snead thought the ball was out of bounds^[4], a rules official ruled differently due to the starter not telling players the stakes had been moved since the previous day's play had ended. Afterwards, Snead explained why he forfeited even though Ford suggested they play sudden death for the title. "I want to be fair about it. I don't want anyone to think I took advantage of the ruling."^[5]

In December 1959 Snead took part in a controversial match against Mason Rudolph, at the Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda. Snead decided to deliberately lose the televised match, played under the 'World Championship Golf' series, during its final holes, after he discovered he had too many golf clubs in his bag on the 12th hole. The match was tied at that stage. A player is limited to 14 clubs during competitive rounds. The extra club in his bag, a fairway wood Snead had been experimenting with in practice, would have caused him to be immediately disqualified according to the Rules of Golf, even though he did not use it during the round. After the match was over, Snead explained the matter, and said he did not disqualify himself in order to not spoil the show. The problem did not become known outside a small circle until the show was televised four months later. After the incident came to light, the sponsor cancelled further participation in the series.^[6]

On February 7, 1962, Snead won^[7] the Royal Poinciana Plaza Invitational. He is the only man to ever win an official LPGA Tour event.^[8]

In 1971, he won the PGA Club Professional Championship at Pinehurst Resort.

In 1973, he became the oldest player to make a cut in a U.S. Open.

In 1974, at age 62, he shot a one-under-par 279 to finish 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, 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 PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award, the fourth person to be so honored.

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. His 1962 autobiography was titled The Education of a Golfer.

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.^[9]

Snead was inducted into the West Virginia Golf Hall of Fame in 2009 with William C. Campbell.^[10]

Death[link]

Sam Snead died in Hot Springs, Virginia, in 2002 following complications from a stroke, four days before his 90th birthday. He was survived by two sons: Sam Jr. of Hot Springs, and Terry, of Mountain Grove, Virginia, and a brother, Pete, of Pittsburgh, as well as two grandchildren. His wife Audrey died in 1990. His nephew J.C. Snead was also a PGA Tour golfer.

Playing style[link]

During his peak years, Snead 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 in 1968 by amending the old Rule 35–1,^[11] 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.

Records[link]

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
• Oldest player to make the cut at a major: age 67 years, 2 months, 7 days at the 1979 PGA Championship
• 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.
• Only player to post a top ten finish in at least one major championship in five different decades.

Snead 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.

Professional wins (165)[link]

PGA Tour wins (82)[link]

• 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, Masters Tournament, 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) Masters Tournament, Palm Beach Round Robin, Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Jim Ferrier), All American Open, Eastern Open
• 1953 (1) Baton Rouge Open
• 1954 (2) Masters Tournament, 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.^[12]

LPGA Tour wins (1)[link]

• 1962 Royal Poinciana Plaza Invitational

Other wins[link]

• 1936 West Virginia Open
• 1937 West Virginia Open
• 1938 West Virginia Open
• 1940 Ontario Open (Canada)
• 1941 Center Open (Argentina)
• 1948 West Virginia Open
• 1949 North and South Open, West Virginia Open
• 1952 West Virginia Open, Brazil Open, Greenbrier Pro-Am
• 1953 Greenbrier Pro-Am
• 1954 Panama Open
• 1957 West Virginia Open
• 1958 West Virginia Open, Greenbrier Invitational
• 1959 Sam Snead Festival
• 1960 West Virginia Open
• 1961 West Virginia Open, Sam Snead Festival
• 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

Note: this list is incomplete.

Senior wins (14)[link]

• 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[link]

Wins (7)[link]

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1942	PGA Championship	n/a	2 & 1	n/a	Jim Turnesa
1946	The Open Championship	Tied for lead	−2 (71–70–74–75=290)	4 strokes	Johnny Bulla, Bobby Locke
1949	Masters Tournament	1 shot deficit	−6 (73–75–67–67=282)	3 strokes	Johnny Bulla, Lloyd Mangrum
1949	PGA Championship (2)	n/a	3 & 2	n/a	Johnny Palmer
1951	PGA Championship (3)	n/a	7 & 6	n/a	Walter Burkemo
1952	Masters Tournament (2)	Tied for lead	−2 (70–67–77–72=286)	4 strokes	Jack Burke, Jr.
1954	Masters Tournament (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[link]

NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary[link]

• Starts – 118
• 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

See also[link]

Golf portal

• 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[link]

External links[link]

• Sam Snead at the PGA Tour official site
• 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

Sam Snead in the Ryder Cup v t e United States Ryder Cup captains 1927 Walter Hagen 1929 Walter Hagen 1931 Walter Hagen 1933 Walter Hagen 1935 Walter Hagen 1937 Walter Hagen 1947 Ben Hogan 1949 Ben Hogan 1951 Sam Snead 1953 Lloyd Mangrum 1955 Chick Harbert 1957 Jack Burke, Jr. 1959 Sam Snead 1961 Jerry Barber 1963 Arnold Palmer 1965 Byron Nelson 1967 Ben Hogan 1969 Sam Snead 1971 Jay Hebert 1973 Jack Burke, Jr. 1975 Arnold Palmer 1977 Dow Finsterwald 1979 Billy Casper 1981 Dave Marr 1983 Jack Nicklaus 1985 Lee Trevino 1987 Jack Nicklaus 1989 Raymond Floyd 1991 Dave Stockton 1993 Tom Watson 1995 Lanny Wadkins 1997 Tom Kite 1999 Ben Crenshaw 2002 Curtis Strange 2004 Hal Sutton 2006 Tom Lehman 2008 Paul Azinger 2010 Corey Pavin v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1937 Ed Dudley • Ralph Guldahl • Tony Manero • Byron Nelson • Henry Picard • Johnny Revolta • Gene Sarazen • Denny Shute • Sam Snead Walter Hagen (non-playing captain) Won: 8 – 4 v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1947 Herman Barron • Jimmy Demaret • E. J. Harrison • Herman Keiser • Lloyd Mangrum • Byron Nelson • Ed Oliver • Sam Snead • Lew Worsham Ben Hogan (playing captain) Won: 11 – 1 v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1949 Skip Alexander • Jimmy Demaret • Bob Hamilton • Chick Harbert • E. J. Harrison • Clayton Heafner • Lloyd Mangrum • Johnny Palmer • Sam Snead Ben Hogan (non-playing captain) Won: 7 – 5 v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1951 Skip Alexander • Jack Burke, Jr. • Jimmy Demaret • Clayton Heafner • Ben Hogan • Ed Oliver • Lloyd Mangrum • Henry Ransom Sam Snead (playing captain) Won: 9.5 – 2.5 v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1953 Jack Burke, Jr. • Walter Burkemo • Dave Douglas • Fred Haas • Ted Kroll • Cary Middlecoff • Ed Oliver • Sam Snead • Jim Turnesa Lloyd Mangrum (playing captain) Won: 6.5 – 5.5 v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1955 Jerry Barber • Tommy Bolt • Jack Burke, Jr. • Doug Ford • Marty Furgol • Chandler Harper • Ted Kroll • Cary Middlecoff • Sam Snead Chick Harbert (playing captain) Won: 8 – 4 v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1959 Julius Boros • Dow Finsterwald • Doug Ford • Jay Hebert • Cary Middlecoff • Bob Rosburg • Mike Souchak • Art Wall, Jr. Sam Snead (playing captain) Won: 8.5 – 3.5 v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1969 Tommy Aaron • Miller Barber • Frank Beard • Billy Casper • Dale Douglass • Raymond Floyd • Dave Hill • Gene Littler • Jack Nicklaus • Dan Sikes • Ken Still • Lee Trevino Sam Snead (non-playing captain) Tied: 16 – 16