Sam Snead

Samuel Jackson Snead was one of those top golf players for almost four decades. He kept a record of at least 82 events in the PGA Tour and other 70 tournaments around the world. Sam is known to have great achievements but his defeat in the U.S. Open was considerably a big flaw to fans and colleagues. Nevertheless, he won 27 games before gaining his first ever major championship title.

Snead was born on May 27, 1912 in Ashwood, Virginia and died on May 23, 2002. His name is one of the greatest together with Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan. He earned second-place record finishes in four championships. On top of that, he had three Masters Championship titles, three PGA Tours titles, and one British Open title.

He started caddying when he was seven years old at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia. At nineteen, he was already a professional golfer and worked as an assistant pro. He was well known for his straw hat and playing barefoot in tournaments. He quoted the words, “Keep close count of your nickels and dimes, stay away from whiskey and never concede a putt.” He was called the “Slammin’ Sammy” because of his almost perfect swing which was imitated by many.

Snead won the Greater Greensboro Open at least eight times and garnered most wins in a single event in the PGA Tour record. His first experienced victory was in 1938 and his last was in 1965 when he was fifty-two years old, so far being the oldest player to win the tour.

Sam received the 1998 PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the 1974 World Golf Hall of Fame. He hit the honorary opening tee shot at The Masters from 1984 to 2002. In 2001 Byron Nelson joined him and he was with Gene Sarazen as well until 1999.