Sam Snead

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sam Snead

Personal Information
Birth	May 27, 1912 Ashwood, Virginia
Death	May 23, 2002 Hot Springs, Virginia
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, Senior: 13, Other: 70)
Major Championship results 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 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.

Contents 1 Career 2 Records 3 PGA Tour wins (82) 4 Other wins 5 Senior wins (14) 6 Major Championships 6.1 Wins (7) 6.2 Results timeline 7 Trivia 8 See also 9 External links

[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 1999, he was joined by Gene Sarazen, and until 2001, by Byron Nelson.

[edit] 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.

[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] Other wins

• 1949 North and South Open

[edit] Senior wins (14)

• 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
• 1978 Legends of Golf (with Gardner Dickinson)
• 1980 Golf Digest Commemorative Pro-Am
• 1982 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Don January)

[edit] Major Championships

[edit] Wins (7)

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runners 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)

[edit] 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	T9	2	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	2	T5	1	NT	DNP	DNP	T17	T17	T5	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	T17	1	T33	T17	T5	T17	T5	T9	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
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
• Most wins in one PGA Tour event

[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