Sam Snead
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Sam Snead 2003 book.jpg Samuel Jackson Snead (May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was one of the top golfers in the world for most of 4 decades. 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 even a single 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 died May 23, 2002, 4 days before he was to celebrate his 90th birthday. He was survived by two sons, Sam Jr., of Hot Springs, and Terry, of Mountain Grove, Va.; a brother, Pete, of Pittsburgh; and two grandchildren. His wife, Audrey, died in 1990.
Contents |
Career
In 1937, his first year on the Tour, he won five events, including the Oakland Open 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 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.
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 at age 67 years, 2 months, 21 days at the 1979 Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic.
Wins
Major championships (7)
- 1942 PGA Championship
- 1946 The Open Championship (not counted as a PGA Tour win at the time, but designated as such in 2002)
- 1949 The Masters, PGA Championship
- 1951 PGA Championship
- 1952 The Masters
- 1954 The Masters
Other PGA Tour wins (75)
- 1936 West Virginia Closed Pro
- 1937 Oakland Open, Bing Crosby Pro-am, St. Paul Open, Nassau Open, Miami Open
- 1938 Bing Crosby Pro-am, Greater Greensboro Open, Chicago Open, Canadian Open, Westchester 108 Hole Open, White Sulphur Springs Open, Inverness Invitational, Palm Beach Round Robin
- 1939 St. Petersburg Open, Miami Open, Miami-Biltmore Four-ball
- 1940 Canadian Open, Anthracite Open, Inverness Invitational Four-ball
- 1941 Bing Crosby Pro-am, St. Petersburg Open, North and South Open, Canadian Open, Rochester Times Union Open, Henry Hurst Invitational
- 1942 St. Petersburg Open
- 1944 Portland Open, Richmond Open
- 1945 Los Angeles Open, Gulfport Open, Pensacola Open, Jacksonville Open, Dallas Open, Tulsa Open
- 1946 Jacksonville Open, Greater Greensboro Open, World Championship of Golf, Miami Open, Virginia Open
- 1948 Texas Open
- 1949 Greater Greensboro Open, Washington Star Open, Dapper Dan Open, Western Open
- 1950 Los Angeles Open, Bing Crosby Pro-Am, Texas Open, Miami Beach Open, Greater Greensboro Open, Western Open, Colonial National Invitational, Reading Open, North and South Open, Miami Open, Inverness Four-ball Invitational
- 1951 Miami Open
- 1952 All-American Open, Eastern Open, Palm Beach Round Robin, Inverness Round Robin, Inverness Roudn Robin Invitational
- 1953 Baton Rouge Open, Palm Beach Round Robin
- 1955 Greater Greensboro Open, Insurance City Open, Miami Open, Palm Beach Round Robin
- 1956 Greater Greensboro Open
- 1957 Dallas Open
- 1960 De Soto Open Invitational, Greater Greensboro Open
- 1961 Tournament of Champions
- 1965 Greater Greensboro Open
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)
Trivia
See also
External links
- Golf Stars Online - links to features and profiles
- about.com profile Profile, stats and quotesnl:Sam Snead