He won more tournaments than any other golfer in the history of the PGA Tour, the American Tour, 82, and gave his rivals a run for their money when he had already passed the half-century mark.
At 67, he became the oldest player to make the second-round cut in a PGA Tour tournament, a feat he accomplished at the 1979 Westchester Classic. Thanks to his physical form, he was one of the veterans who gave more war after his 60s.
A native of Hot Springs, Virginia, Sam Snead died in Fall Hills, New Jersey, of heart complications on May 23, 2002, just four days shy of his 90th birthday. His death occurred just during the week of the Memorial Tournament, dedicated by the PGA to honor golf legends.
He was introduced to golf during the Great Depression by his father, who encouraged him to play by giving him a club he made himself by chiseling a branch.
Known as Slammin Sam or simply Slammer, Snead claimed 135 victories worldwide, including seven in the Grand Slam: three Augusta Masters titles (1949, 1952, 1954, the latter in a memorable 18-hole play-off against Ben Hogan), three US PGA Championships (1942, 1949, 1951) and one British Open (1946). He missed out on completing the Grand Slam with the US Open, a tournament in which he finished second on four occasions.
Possessing a “sweet swing”, as experts call the not very powerful but precise touch, Snead was the golfer who won the same tournament the most times, eight times, the Greater Greensboro Open, on whose links he won the last victory of his career, in 1965, at the age of 52 years, 10 months and eight days, thus becoming the oldest winner in the history of world golf.
He won 27 times on Tour before winning his first major. In 1950 he won 11 tournaments on the PGA Tour and became the last player to surpass ten wins in a season.
In his first year on Tour, 1937, he won five tournaments, three less than during his second season. His long drives inspired his nickname Slammin Sam (the Slammer).
Among the distinctions with which he was distinguished, he has been a member of the World Hall of Fame since 1974. He won four times the Harry Vardon Trophy for the best player of the year, three times he finished the season first in the winnings list, played eight Ryder Cups, an intercontinental competition that he captained in three editions.
A native of Hot Springs, Virginia, Snead also became the oldest player ever to make the second-round cut in a PGA tournament, a feat he accomplished at the 1979 Westchester Classic at age 67. At 62, he finished third in the 1974 PGA Championship, and at 67 he recorded rounds of 67 and 66 at the Quad Cities Open. He also won six tournaments at the PGA Seniors and five at the World Seniors Championships. In 1983, at the age of 71, he shot a round of 60 at his home club, The Homestead.
His exquisite swing was a model for all golfers. Of him, another of the greatest players of all time, Jack Nicklaus, said that it was “the most fluid and elegant movement ever seen on a golf course”.
One of Snead’s famous quotes was the one that said, “Keep your beads straight, stay away from whiskey and never concede a putt.” Another, “If a lot of people would pick up a knife and fork like they pick up a golf club, they’d starve to death.” “Thinking instead of acting is golf’s number one evil.”
From 1984 to 2002, Snead hit the shot of honor with which each edition of the Augusta Masters is inaugurated. He shared that honor with Byron Nelson until 2001 and with Gene Sarazen until 1999.
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